


Beans

by fezwearingjellybananas



Series: Milk and Sugar 'verse [11]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, M/M, Minor Legends of Tomorrow, Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 101,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23328835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: Getting lost in the Speed Force might have given Barry a new outlook on life, but it's back to the same old routine with even more crime to stop, occassional drop ins from Lisa Snart's Rogues ready to stir up trouble, and one big bad determined to cause problems.But this time it's not a speedster, and it'll take smarts to defeat the Thinker, not that S.T.A.R. Labs is short on them. And they have a whole new set of allies who can help.Providing they can keep them alive.(Part 11/12)
Relationships: Barry Allen/Eddie Thawne, Caitlin Snow/Iris West, Cecile Horton/Joe West, Cisco Ramon/Hartley Rathaway, Laurel Lance/Lily Stein, Linda Park/Wally West
Series: Milk and Sugar 'verse [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/875340
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> A confession: I am not done writing yet. Everything is plotted, and I do have 12 1/2 chapters written of probably 19, possibly 18 depending on how the one untitled one goes when I get to it, and I will absolutely finish this fic, but right now writing is being a little difficult and I am a rather distracted (as I am sure many people are), so I was hoping having some kind of set deadline might at least help me focus even just a little on this. And Flash starts again here next week finally, so here we are, chapter 1. If I start with posting a chapter a week I should hopefully finish writing before I catch up with the bit I'm writing, and then I can maybe up it to 2 chapters a week, but I guess that's a see how it goes.

Eddie was grateful to Joe. He was. Every Sunday one of the Wests would show up at his door and invite him for dinner. Henry was usually there too, and Caitlin, and more recently, Cecile. He loved them; he really did.

But there was still an empty chair. They still drifted into silence waiting for Barry to chip in with a science fact, or a bad pun, or both if he could manage it. Less now. They’d had a few months. But a few months didn’t fix the empty side of Eddie’s bed, just when he’d got used to Barry being there. It didn’t change Barry’s clothes in one side of his dresser, or the telescope by the window with a thin layer of dust where Eddie hadn’t been able to touch it, not yet.

“How’s Patty doing?” Iris asked. Iris knew how Patty was doing; Iris spoke to Patty a lot. Just filling the silence. “She must have her hands full now Julian’s left.”

“He said he’d be back though,” Wally said. “He’s just got some family affairs to sort out.”

“Patty’s a good C.S.I.,” Cecile said. “She can handle it.”

“I heard Kid Flash stopped Peek-a-Boo earlier,” Henry said.

“Yeah,” Wally said. He looked down at his plate. “Cisco and Hartley helped.”

They drifted into silence again.

“Maybe we should have a memorial service,” Iris said. “We’ve all been dancing around this too long, he’s gone. We should put him to rest. Maybe put something next to Nora, or just a bench on his favourite hill, I don’t know, but we can’t keep waiting for something that won’t happen.”

“Iris,” Caitlin said.

“I miss him. He’s my best friend. But he’s gone.”

“Tomorrow,” Joe said. “We can talk about this tomorrow.”

An alarm came from Wally’s phone.

“I have to go,” he said. “Back in a sec.”

* * *

Eddie drove Caitlin, Henry, Joe, and Iris to S.T.A.R. Labs. They got there just in time to see Cisco and Hartley help Wally into the bed.

Caitlin and Henry grabbed some gloves.

Wally’s Kid Flash costume was on the floor; he’d gone out in Barry’s old suit. Cisco and Hartley were both in costume, and Laurel, Lily, and Linda were all in the Cortex.

“What happened?” Joe asked.

“Wally can speak Japanese,” Cisco said. “Did you know that?”

“You knew that,” Hartley said. “I told you Nate and I taught Wally some.”

“I thought that was just some, and that was only a couple of months ago.”

“I picked it up pretty quickly,” Wally said. He gasped.

“You need to stop moving,” Caitlin said. “That’s a lot of blood.”

“The bone’s the biggest concern right now,” Henry said. “Laurel, can you find one of Lily’s speedster painkillers?”

“There was a samurai, or someone dressed as one at least,” Hartley said. “He said he wanted to fight the Flash, then stabbed the ground with his sword and sent a shockwave at us. Wally came back in the red suit, and he stabbed Wally, then demanded to fight the Flash again and flew off.”

“That’s all he said?” Eddie asked.

“He said we have a day, or he’d destroy Central,” Wally said. Caitlin and Henry put their hands on his shoulders to stop him moving. “I have to-”

“You need to stay still,” Henry said. “He’s sliced through your fibula. Your healing has kicked in, but…”

“We’d be considering amputation if you weren’t a speedster,” Caitlin said.

“Dad-”

“You’re not moving, Wally,” Joe said.

“But he said if he doesn’t fight the Flash-”

“And how are you going to fight him?”

“I could teach you basic fencing,” Lily said. Everyone looked at her. “What?”

“You can fence?” Linda asked.

“I did a little when I was at uni, I haven’t for years.”

“Why?”

“Was it Sulu?” Hartley asked.

“No,” Lily badly lied.

“Did you get there and find out the instructor was a very attractive lady with a sword?” Iris asked.

“It was an épée.”

“I don’t think that’s what this guy wants,” Eddie said.

“And this is going to take a long time to heal, for you,” Caitlin said. “It’ll be at least five hours before you can walk again, let alone fight someone.”

“Eddie can help,” Iris said.

“That won’t make much difference.”

“What about Jay or Jesse?” Laurel asked. “Could we call them?”

“I think I might have an idea,” Cisco said quietly.

“Does it involve Wally fighting this guy again?” Joe asked.

“No. I don’t even know if it’ll work. I’m pretty sure it will, but-”

“Cisco, telling us what it is would help a lot,” Iris said.

“I think I might know how to get Barry out of the Speed Force.”

Eddie stepped back and caught his breath. Cisco couldn’t mean- He couldn’t-

“How long have you been working on that?” Linda asked.

“Since he left,” Cisco said.

“And you haven’t mentioned it because…”

“I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up if I couldn’t find a way. But I think I have one, I’ve talked to Tracy, Tina McGee, Harry, Martin, Ray, Jay, and Max, it’s possible, I just need Caitlin’s help with something.”

“Cisco,” Joe said.

“We thought Ronnie was dead twice. Eddie healed from a fatal gunshot wound. Laurel recovered after flatling. Sara literally came back from the dead, twice now according to Ray. Thea died once. Why can’t Barry come back too?”

“He’s not dead,” Lily said.

“Neither was Ronnie.”

“And if…”

“Then at least we’d know,” Cisco said. “At least we’d know.”

“He’s been lost in the Speed Force before and found his way home,” Wally said.

“What if it opens up again?” Iris asked. “What if it takes you?”

“I can-”

“No, you can’t,” Linda said.

“That’s the problem I’ve been working on,” Cisco said. “I have an idea, I’ve been calling it a Quark Sphere, basically we program it so it registers as Barry and makes the Speed Force think he’s still there, that’s what I need Caitlin for.”

“You really think this will work,” Hartley said.

“I don’t know. But I do know it’s the closest I’ve been, and I miss my friend.”

“How long will it take?” Henry asked.

“I don’t know. A few hours? Maybe more? I really don’t know. I don’t even know if it’ll work. But it’s all I have.”

“I can- I can look after Wally.” Henry nodded. “Everyone will need rest. And a back-up plan.”

“We’ll work on something,” Lily said. “I really hope you know what you’re doing, Cisco.”

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “Me too.”

* * *

Eddie couldn’t sleep. He’d already abandoned his bed, instead opting to sit on the sofa, something quiet on the television, and try not to look at his phone every two minutes. Everyone had agreed to go home and get some rest. If Cisco’s plan failed, they all needed to be awake and ready to deal with this samurai guy. Somehow.

Or maybe Cisco’s plan would work. Maybe Barry would come back. But Wally had been hurt in a matter of minutes, what if Barry couldn’t win? And who even was this guy, all they really knew was that he’d shown up and demanded to fight the Flash. And he’d said that after he fought Wally, so it must be someone who knew Barry was gone and Wally was running around the city in two costumes. Someone who hurt Wally easily, and specifically wanted Barry for something. Maybe they should leave Barry where he was. Safe.

But if Barry came back and won, he’d be back. Eddie would have Barry back. He’d be there to tell those bad jokes and science facts, to make a mess every time he ran, to get distracted in every conversation, to laugh and smile, and to just be there. He’d be there. Surely it was worth the risk, surely having Barry was worth any risk. Eddie just missed him, so much. It had been six months, he missed Barry so much.

Maybe it was for the best Cisco hadn’t mentioned it sooner. Now he had mentioned it, it was all Eddie could think about. He wasn’t coping well having to wait a few hours, if he’d been waiting six months…

Eddie checked his phone again. Nothing. Still nothing.

Soon.

* * *

He got to Ferris Air at half past seven. It wasn’t the crack of dawn- Eddie knew that because his couple of hours nap had ended at the crack of dawn- but there was still dew on the grass. Everyone looked tired; they’d probably got the same amount of sleep as Eddie.

Wally was in a wheelchair. His leg looked fine now, but given how close Joe was standing, he was going to be spending a couple of hours in the wheelchair.

Cecile had brought breakfast with her. Just a few granola bars for everyone to at least nibble on, but that was more than Eddie had eaten. Linda was on Wally’s other side, holding his hand, Iris was standing with Henry, Lily and Laurel were side by side…

Cisco breached back over from where he’d put his Quark Sphere. He seemed slightly out of focus.

“It’s ready,” Cisco said. “Now we just aim the Speed Force Bazooka, like with Jay, and he should be here.”

Should.

Caitlin and Cisco were both saying something, but Eddie was too focused on the podium where the sphere was. He had to be there. He had to.

A breach opened, but there was no streak of lightning. No sign of anything.

The breached closed again and no Barry. Nothing.

“I don’t understand,” Cisco said. “That should have worked.”

“We’ll think of something else,” Cecile said. “You’ve had a long night. We’ll think of something else.”

* * *

Eddie wasn’t sure how he’d pulled himself up and gone to work, but maybe he’d just been on autopilot. Everything at C.C.P.D. seemed normal. Patty was smiling, everyone was going about their day, doing their jobs, everything was just a normal day.

It felt like it shouldn’t be. It felt like the whole world should have stopped, it felt like he’d lost Barry all over again. There was this hole, and it had opened itself back up. Or maybe it had never closed. Maybe he’d just got used to ignoring it, because he definitely hadn’t dealt with it.

“Thawne,” Captain Singh said. “My office.”

“Yes sir,” Eddie said. Captain Singh gestured at the chair when Eddie walked in, and he sat down. Captain Singh shut the door again.

“Did your friends do something I should know about?” Captain Singh asked. Eddie blinked.

“You mean with the samurai last night?”

“I mean we got a call earlier about a wormhole or something opening up downtown, and then we got a call from just outside Ivy City.”

“That’s three hundred miles away.”

“Eddie. One of the cops used to work in Keystone, a few years ago. He recognised Barry.”

“No. No, he’s in the Speed Force. Cisco’s idea didn’t work.”

“I think it might have done,” Captain Singh said. “They weren’t clear on the phone, but they said Barry’s not making much sense.”

“Speedster talk? Usually he remembers to slow down, unless he’s talking to Wally, but it’s been six months.”

A breach opened and Cisco (in his suit) jumped in with Henry, Joe, and Wally, Wally in Barry’s costume with a walking stick.

“Got your message, Captain,” Cisco said. “One breach to Ivy City, coming right up.”

* * *

Eddie had never been to Ivy City. The hospital probably didn’t count as visiting.

The nurse at reception blinked when they appeared. 

“Thank you, Vibe,” Captain Singh said. He showed the receptionist his badge.

“Upstairs, take the first left, there’s some officers outside,” she said. “Um…”

“S’up,” Wally said. “By the way, those weird stories about Central are all true.”

“We’ll wait here, Captain,” Cisco said.

Captain Singh nodded and Eddie followed him upstairs.

“How likely…”

Joe put a hand on Henry’s shoulder.

The room was easy to find. Two officers were waiting outside.

“Captain David Singh, Central City P.D.,” Captain Singh said. He showed them his badge. “This is Detective Edward Thawne, and Detective West and Doctor Allen are here as Mister Allen’s next of kin, Captain Sawyer called us.”

“That was quick,” one of the officers said.

“Vibe gave us some assistance.”

“Huh.”

The officer opened the door and Eddie followed Captain Singh in. Barry was sat in the bed, a hospital gown on and a scruffy beard on his chin, furiously scrawling in a notebook. He looked up and beamed.

Eddie bit back a sob.

“Sorry I’m late, Captain,” he said. “And sorry I broke the lab.”

“That’s all right, Barry,” Captain Singh said gently. “We’re here to take you home.”

“It wasn’t my dad! Why won’t you listen to me, I saw him, there was a man in the lightning!”

“Barry?” Eddie asked.

“He’ll come back, Eddie, he hasn’t finished with me yet.”

“Who, Bare?”

“Can you hear the stars?”

“Barry?” Henry asked. He crouched down by Barry’s bed. “It’s your dad, Slugger. Do you know who we are?”

“I don’t trust him,” Barry said. “Bart, no, come back!”

“We need to get him to Caitlin,” Joe said.

“I’ll find someone,” Captain Singh said. Eddie stepped out the room after him. The two officers nodded.

“That your guy?”

“It’s him,” Captain Singh said.

“He showed up stark naked on the I-200 then passed out, witnesses say they saw the Flash.”

“Wasn’t me,” Wally said from where he’d appeared at the end of the corridor. He had his arms full of folders. “I’m just helping Doctor Hoshi carry some things, Vibe’s downstairs surrounded by children.”

“Huh,” the officer said again. “There’s a Kid Flash, right?”

“There are several speedsters in Central City,” Captain Singh said. “We’ll look into it.”

“Could it be linked to the Harrison Wells case again?” Eddie asked. Captain Singh nodded once.

“We’ll look into it,” Captain Singh said. “Who do we speak to about transferring him back to Central?”

* * *

Cisco breached them into S.T.A.R. Labs. Caitlin, Iris, Hartley, and Lily all rushed over.

“Barry,” Iris said. “Barry, oh my-”

“Why am I here, what happened?” Barry asked.

“Barry?”

“He’s a little confused,” Joe said.

“There’s so many bad people, Joe,” Barry said. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You’ll be okay, Bare.”

“Nora shouldn’t be here.”

“She’s not here, Slugger,” Henry said. “You remember, don’t you?”

“I got an offer from Sun City,” Barry said. “I know it’s far, but it’s a really good school, and I’ll come home every holiday. I promise. I made a promise. Also, that was like two days ago, it hasn’t been relevant to any of my cases because my case was the Mardons, and then I got struck by lightning and it’s not two days ago, it’s nearly nine months.”

“Barry, can you tell me where you are?” Caitlin asked. She looked at the notebook he was still clutching. “What about these symbols, what do they mean?”

“The stars are melting,” Barry said. “Melting, melting, ice cream, beam, seam, dream, Wally told me it was just a bad dream and he was fine, Wally, Wally, Wally-”

“I’m here,” Wally said. “Barry?”

“The stars are melting. Too much, too much-”

Barry clutched his head and screamed.

“Caitlin,” Lily said. She passed Caitlin something and Barry looked down at his arm as she injected it. He swayed slightly, then collapsed against Henry.

“I’ll help get him into med bay,” Cisco said.

“I need to get back to C.C.P.D.,” Captain Singh said. “You’ll take care of him?”

“I’ll do my best,” Caitlin said. “I don’t know what this is.”

* * *

Barry looked peaceful now he was sleeping. Hartley was flipping through the notebook, but that didn’t make any sense to him either.

“They’re the same symbols repeated,” Hartley said. “It could be an alphabet of some kind, but what kind I don’t know, and I don’t know how to start translating it.”

“How come he’s still unconscious?” Wally asked. “I thought things like that don’t work on speedsters.”

“I think it’s to do with his blood sugar,” Caitlin said. “Physically, he seems healthy, but he did have fairly low sugar levels.”

“And he’s not making sense,” Cisco said. “Any ideas on that?”

“We don’t know what Barry saw in the Speed Force, or how long he was there for.”

“Six months,” Eddie said.

“Six months for us, maybe,” Caitlin said. “But it could have been longer for him. It’s possible that maybe he thinks he’s making sense, maybe it’s some kind of code?”

“Like the symbols,” Lily said.

“Or,” Joe said.

“Or maybe he’s confused,” Caitlin said. “Like how in dementia patients lose their short-term memory. It could be some kind of variation of that. I don’t know.”

“We could try waking him up,” Henry said. Caitlin nodded.

Iris rested a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. He hadn’t even considered Barry wouldn’t be okay. Maybe he just hadn’t wanted to. All he’d wanted was Barry back.

It didn’t take long for Barry to open his eyes. He looked at them curiously.

“Hi, Barry,” Cisco said. “How are you feeling, bud?”

“No, thank you,” Barry said. “I’m not hungry.”

“That’s good,” Lily said. “I thought you were always hungry?”

“Other than dinner at Joe’s, nothing,” Barry said. “I’ll go visit Dad for Hanukkah though. You’re not going to lose your dad, Wally, I promise. Hartley, where’s Cisco? What do you mean? What happened to Cisco? What did Wells do?”

“Barry?” Iris asked.

“No, I didn’t do this. Your honour, I’m innocent. Rupture is who? I’m helping, Cynthia, you’re my friend, and you’ve helped save my world, the least I can do is help you save yours. Besides, it’s Cisco’s brother, I’m helping.”

“Who’s Cynthia?” Hartley asked.

“Dante’s in trouble?” Cisco asked. “Barry, is Dante in trouble?”

“Dawnie, please eat your vegetables,” Barry said. “It’s hard to explain. Uncle Wally calls them lightning rods. Aunt Linda’s his. She anchors him to Earth, to reality. And we have each other. The world is so slow, and no one else understands, but we do. The Speed Force connects us all. You two stick together. Anchor each other. You’ll find your own lightning rods one day, I know you will, I’ve seen it. And if you ever get lost, I will always come and find you.”

“It’s okay, Barry,” Wally said. He passed Barry a marker and Barry stood up to start writing his symbols on the wipe board.

“I don’t know what this is,” Caitlin said.

“You don’t know how to help him,” Iris said. Caitlin shook her head.

“Then what do we do?” Eddie asked. “He’s...”

“He’s still Barry,” Wally said. “He’s just different now. We can learn how to help him.”

“You’re going to look so good in red,” Barry said. “Red, yellow, red, yellow, red, yellow, it wasn’t my dad, Joe, it was the man in the lightning!”

“I believe you, Bare,” Joe said. “I believe you.” Barry nodded happily and went back to drawing. “Wally’s right, whatever this is, we can learn.”

“I ghosted,” Barry whispered to Cisco. “Bad things happen when you mess with time, Oliver.”

“You time travelled, Slugger?” Henry asked.

“The stars are raining. Raining, paining, it hurts, Joe, it hurts, it hurts-”

Barry fell to the floor, clutching his head. Joe wrapped his arms around him

“I’ve got you, Barry. I’ve got you.”

“We have a Plan B,” Eddie said. “Don’t we?”

“Yeah,” Wally said.

“Your leg still hurts,” Iris said.

“I think it’s one of those pains that never goes away, it’s fine,” Wally brushed her off. “If he wants to fight the Flash, he can.”

“You’re going to look so good in red,” Barry said. “Jay and Jesse and Wally and Bart and Barry and Avery and Danica and Irey and Wally, Wally, Wally, it’s okay, Jenni, if you say Wally sent you, I believe you.”

“There, see, Barry agrees I can do it,” Wally said.

“What do you mean? Captain? You mean- It’s my fault. He hurt them because of me, it’s my fault. It’s my fault, Iris, he was going to hurt you, and it’s my fault. Oliver, you don’t get it, I was there, I should have stopped it. Yellow and red. Captain Singh and Joe reopened the investigation. Yellow and red, yellow and red, Wally, Wally, please-”

“Barry,” Joe said. “It’s okay.”

“I don’t know what you want, but you can’t have Wally. DeVoe, I’m begging you, leave Wally out of it. No, no, Eddie, please.”

“Barry,” Henry said. “Barry, it’s okay now.”

Eddie put his hand on Barry’s shoulder, and lightning sparked. Barry’s yellow trail circled the room, far too fast for any of them to see, and even Wally looked shocked.

“Cisco, open a breach,” Iris said. Cisco nodded and Barry ran straight through.

“The force field should hold him for now,” Cisco said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I need some back-up,” Wally said.

“And you still have a few hours,” Lily said. “Let us come up with an actual plan first.”

* * *

Barry seemed happy scribbling in his notebook in the force field. No one wanted to leave him alone though. Just in case he needed them. Or maybe in case he disappeared again.

Iris and Eddie took first shift. Barry didn’t even register they were there.

“Do you really think he was trying to talk to Wally?” Eddie asked.

“I don’t know,” Iris said. “I think Wally hoped he was. I also think Wally was trying to convince Dad. Cisco and Hartley are going to try and decipher Barry’s symbols, maybe that will help.”

“Was it a mistake?”

“No. We have Barry back. Even if we don’t know what this is, or how to deal with it, he’s here. That’s got to be better than him being lost.”

“There were more speedsters there,” Barry said. “They saved me.”

“More speedsters, Bare?” Iris asked. “You mean Wally?”

“Yellow and pink and purple and blue and red and yellow, hi, Avery, it’s nice to meet you.”

“There’s no one here called Avery, Barry. It’s Eddie and Iris.”

“Okay. I’m Barry. It’s short for Bartholomew, like my grandpa.” He made a face when he said Bartholomew and Iris laughed. “My dad says it’s distin- distin- dis-squished.”

“Distinguished?” Iris asked.

“Okay. Mom, this is Iris, she’s my new best friend, can we go to the park? Hello, Mister West, sir, I’m Barry. Daph, that was horrible, I’m not doing it again. That was the worst thing I have ever agreed to.”

“You’re faster than a roller-coaster now,” Iris said.

“Iris, he might hear you. Hey, Anderson, who’s the blond? Could you grab that bottle for me? Oh, Detective Thawne. Barry Allen, forensics. Thanks for this. I’ll have those fingerprints in just a minute.”

“I missed you too, Barry,” Eddie said.

“The stars are melting,” Barry said. “Melting, pelting-”

“It’s all right, Bare,” Iris said. “We’ll fix the stars.”

* * *

Joe came in next, carrying a razor, a towel, and a small bowl. Iris offered Eddie a hand and took him back up to the Cortex. Wally was in Barry’s old suit again, and Cisco, Hartley, and Laurel were all wearing their suits. Even Caitlin had the blue mask Barry had made on, and the blue jacket Cisco had made for her. Lily had the Cold Gun on the table.

Henry was pouring over some notes.

“You have a plan?” Iris asked.

“Not exactly,” Caitlin said. “But we can work together and think of something.”

“Be careful, honey. Here, let me help.”

Iris went to join them, and Eddie sat next to Henry.

“Joe’s with him,” he said. “Is that...”

“I could try an MRI,” Henry said. “Maybe a CT scan. These have nothing.”

“He’s back though,” Eddie said.

“He’s my son. I have to help him. I can’t lose him again.”

“I know.”

“Do you? A force wearing my wife’s face took my son away from me. Cobalt was Barry too, he was my boy too, he died in my arms. He died fighting Zoom. He vanished trying that idiotic idea of Harry’s. He got struck by lightning and put in a coma for nine months. And I know he didn’t like it, but if it hadn’t been for Joe, I wouldn’t have even been able to see my boy grow up. Barry is the most important thing to me in this world, I can’t lose him again.” Henry sighed. “I’m sorry. I know you know how it feels. You’re so important to Barry.”

“I get it,” Eddie said. “We didn’t even consider he wouldn’t be okay when he came back. You should go and see him. It might help him. Maybe it’ll help you.”

* * *

Samurai’s deadline was up. Eddie wasn’t on the meta task force, but he’d gone with Joe to help. Someone had to, because Barry couldn’t.

Samurai landed in front of them, and Cisco opened a breach. Hartley, Caitlin, Laurel, and Cisco all stood there. Linda had arrived just as Eddie was leaving; Iris, Lily, and Linda would handle that end.

“None of you are the Flash,” he said.

“I’m right here,” Wally said. The samurai turned around.

“No.”

“Yes,” Wally said. “I’m the Flash that’s going to kick your arse.”

“What’s different this time? You brought friends?”

He jammed his sword into the road, and Eddie flew back. Everyone around him was lying flat.

Wally hadn’t moved. Just flickered.

A bolt of lightning struck the samurai and he crashed into a wall.

“I brought a hologram,” Wally said from behind them. The hologram shut off. “And I have the best girlfriend ever. She’s my lightning- That’s it. That’s it, Eddie, you have to-”

Samurai threw Wally back. Caitlin aimed a blast of ice, but he took off, hovering above them. He deflected Laurel’s sonic blast with his sword, and it hit Hartley, who clutched his ears.

“Not the time, Flash!” Hartley yelled. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow-”

“That’s it,” Cisco said. He stepped forward and Eddie almost crawled to Hartley’s side as Cisco went flying back, only to vanish into a breach and reappear over the fight.

“I’ve got you,” Eddie said. His flame trickled down his fingers.

“Broke my hearing aids,” Hartley gasped, moving his hands rapidly. Maybe Eddie should learn sign. “Tinnitus. Can’t help.” Hartley moved his hands back to his ears and pulled his knees up.

Samurai landed in front of them and aimed a sword at Eddie.

“Flash!” Wally yelled. “Detective Thawne needs your help! Iris, tell him!”

Cisco knocked the Samurai back with another vibe blast. He pinned him to the wall. Caitlin aimed a beam of ice to freeze him there.

“I’ll take that,” Wally said. He grabbed one of the swords and phased it out of Samurai’s hand.

Which exploded.

“Um,” Wally said. “I didn’t mean to do that. Are you all right, sir?”

“Throw a bolt of lightning,” Laurel said.

“What?”

“Throw another bolt of lightning, Flash.”

Wally threw a bolt and the Samurai seized then fell still. Cisco pulled the mask off.

“It’s a robot,” he said. “It’s cool, guys! It’s just a robot!”

“Huh,” a familiar voice said from behind them. “I guess you didn’t need my help after all.”

Eddie turned. There he was, in Wally’s suit of all things, a twinkle in his eyes.

Barry stumbled back as Wally ran into him to hug him.

“Woah, Flash,” he said. “Anyone might think you’ve missed me.”

“We need to get Piper back,” Cisco said. “Race you.”

* * *

Barry was already standing in S.T.A.R. Labs when Cisco breached them in.

“How the-”

“Barry’s speeds are through the roof,” Lily said. “Definitely the fastest man alive.”

“Until Wally catches up,” Linda said. “Nice idea with the hologram, babe.”

“Nice execution, hon,” Wally said. They high-fived.

“Oh great,” Barry said. “I missed a huge chunk of a relationship again, didn’t I.”

“Thank you,” Hartley said as Henry passed him his normal hearing aids. “Someone remind me to always bring a spare pair with me for future reference. You look weird in yellow.”

“It’s the darnedest thing,” Barry said. “I went to put my suit on, and I could only find this one.”

He smiled at Wally, and Wally rubbed the back of his neck.

“I guess you’ll want it back now,” he said. “There’s a hole in the leg and I might have bled in it a bit yesterday?”

“Cisco and I were working on one before you vanished,” Lily said. “Just give us a few hours.”

“What brought you back?” Cisco asked.

“I don’t know,” Barry said. “I think I heard Wally say Eddie was in trouble, but I don’t remember anything between going into the Speed Force and being in the speedster trap. It’s lucky Dad was there to let me out.”

“We’re just really glad to see you,” Henry said.

“I missed you too, Dad,” Barry said. He hugged Henry. “I don’t need to remember to know that.”

“I do want to give you a check-up,” Caitlin said.

“And we need to find out who built that robot, and why,” Laurel said.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Barry said. “I still kind of feel like I’m dreaming.”

“You’re not,” Eddie said. “You’re here.”

Barry smiled at him. Eddie had missed that so much.

* * *

Joe arrived just as Caitlin was finishing. Barry hugged him tight.

“It’s good to see you, son.”

“Good to see you too, Joe.”

“It’s late,” Caitlin said. “I get the feeling tomorrow might be a long day.”

“Want to give me a lift home?” Eddie asked Barry.

* * *

Six months and Eddie would have to learn how to reorientate himself after Barry’s lifts again. But that could wait.

“I’m sorry,” Barry said. 

“For leaving?”

“For not telling you. I should have.”

“You knew?”

“That’s what the other me was talking about. He was offering to go back and stabilise the Speed Force, but that wasn’t fair.”

“So, you sacrificed yourself instead? You knew and you left me anyway?”

“I am sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you might try and stop me. But you brought me back again. Like you always do. Joe, Iris, you, Cisco, you always bring me home again.”

“You said you heard Wally. He shouted out to you, that I needed you.”

“Like I said, you bring me home again.”

“Please don’t leave me again.”

“You know that I can’t promise you that. But I can promise that I will always try and find my home to you.”

“And if you can’t?”

“I guess you’ll have to come and get me again.”

“I really missed you.”

“I missed you too. I’m going to have to catch up on more missing time again. And I guess jobs and things.”

“You were reported missing, there were a few in the storm. Captain Singh will get you your job back. Julian’s gone back to London to sort out something, but Patty’s back.”

“Oh, good. Joe and Cecile?”

“She moved in with him last week.”

“And my dad?”

“Got his licence back, he’s been helping at a clinic. And your aunt Ruth has stopped by a few times, she seems nice. She knows you’re the Flash.”

“I’ll run up there tomorrow and let her know I’m okay. The Legends?”

“Amaya went back to 1942, to make sure Mari will exist, but they’ve been around. They darted off somewhere the other day though.”

“And Wally and Linda are dating.”

“For a couple of months. Lily’s still single.”

“Lisa hasn’t come back yet then.”

“She’s been causing trouble with Shawna again, but Kid Flash, Vibe, and Pied Piper caught Peek-a-Boo the other day.”

“Kid Flash?”

“Wally’s been running around in both suits.”

“Oh. Iris and Caitlin are all right.”

“They’re fine. They were talking about a November wedding, so I take it you will be there.”

“I hope so. Laurel’s still in Central.”

“And she did get a place with Wally. They had Sara, Ray, and Nate crash there too a few times, so I don’t know how that went, but so far they’re having a good time.”

“Huh. And Cisco and Hartley are still Cisco and Hartley.”

“They’ve been fine.”

“And what about you? How’ve you been?”

“I really, really missed you.”

“I’m right here.” Barry cupped Eddie’s face in his hands and brought their lips together. “I’m home.” He brushed a tear out the corner of Eddie’s eye. “I’m home.”

“Stay.”

“For as long as I can.”


	2. Joe West's Trio of Trouble Magnet Children

Iris, Wally, and Barry were all sitting together and laughing. A board game lay abandoned on the coffee table, and Joe smiled. His kids were all home, and together.

It was just them. Barry had spent most of the day with Henry, and Caitlin had said something about helping Lily with something, and Cecile was out with Joanie.

“It does bring a whole new meaning to your first name,” Wally said. Barry looked blank. “The Streak?”

“That was so bad,” Barry laughed.

“Says the guy who gave away his secret identity because he wouldn’t stop making a bad pun,” Iris said. “I guess it does makes sense.”

“Speedsters have an appalling sense of humour?” Wally asked.

“No, Bare showing up with no clothes on again.” Iris and Wally both laughed and fell backwards.

“You two are awful,” Barry said, a wide smile on his face. “Absolutely awful. I didn’t miss either of you at all.”

“Liar,” Iris said.

“I’ll be right back,” Wally said. He sped out the room.

“I did need to talk to you,” Iris said. “I wanted to ask you if you were still sure about me having this. You knew what was going to happen and-”

“I’m sure, Irey,” Barry said. “Yes, it was because I thought I wasn’t coming back, but I meant what I said. You and Caitlin are family, and I don’t think it’ll suit Eddie. Besides, I’m not really the marrying kind.”

“Yes, you are. You’ve dreamed about your future family for years. We changed my future. We can change yours too.”

“Gideon said it was a constant. That it’s me or the world. I’m okay with it.”

“I’m not. We just got you back.”

“I know. But 2024 is ages away, plenty of time to do other things.”

“Like find a way to change the future.”

“Maybe. Let’s talk about something else. How is wedding planning going?”

“We were thinking November. Dad’s helping me start looking for a dress tomorrow, right, Dad?”

Joe chuckled and finished pouring the milk into the hot chocolates. He carried four mugs through to where Iris and Barry were both smiling and waiting for him.

“I’m dress shopping with you?”

“I’m working tomorrow,” Barry said. “Can’t. I’m helping Patty go through the backlog. You know, I actually really love not running the lab by myself. We can get so much more done.”

“And Wally’s not helpful,” Iris said. Wally ran back into the room and sat down.

“What did I do?” Wally asked.

“Dress shopping,” Iris said.

“Please no. Please ask Linda instead of me.”

“What are you holding?” Joe asked.

“It’s a tortoise,” Wally said. “There was a fire at a rescue centre earlier and I helped out and most of the animals have temporary homes but McSnurtle had nowhere and I said I’d look after her until they were fully back up and running, but my landlord has a strict no pets policy and I can’t tell him I’m babysitting a tortoise because I’m Kid Flash, but you don’t have rules like that, so, it is just for a few weeks.”

“You said you’d look after a turtle.”

“They had fosters for the cats and dogs, they have a normal list of people who already have one and who agreed to take an extra for a while, and one of the volunteers said she has a garden so she could take the rabbits and guinea pigs, and another one of the volunteers took the parrot, and Hartley adopted the rats so I assume he and Cisco talked about that first and Cisco’s not going to be getting a surprise extra five rats when they get home, but McSnurtle was a little harder because at the minute she’s their only reptile and they didn’t have anyone with quite the right equipment for a tortoise, and I got Hartley to help me find some stuff and he put it on S.T.A.R. Labs credit, and he’s also helping them rebuild the rescue centre and updating it I think? It’s another one of those things he said to put down as anonymous. But it’s just for a little while, Dad.”

“Cecile and I both have jobs; we’ve never had time for a pet.”

“That’s true,” Iris said. “I spent years asking for a dog, but Dad always said we didn’t have the time to look after one properly, he had his hands full with us.”

“Also, Joe’s allergic to cats and dogs,” Barry said. “Hey there, McSnurtle, aren’t you the cutest little turtle? Hey there.”

“Yours and Eddie’s place lets you have small pets, right?” Wally asked.

“Yeah,” Barry said. “I should probably ask Eddie first, but if it’s just for a few weeks, it should be fine.”

* * *

“So, we both know Barry’s never giving that turtle up, right?” Iris’ voice came from behind the closed door.

“I doubt it,” Joe said. “He’s probably already introduced her to everyone he knows.”

“What about this one?” Iris stepped out the changing room with a big, puffy white dress on, with embroidery around the trim.

“It’s very big,” Joe said.

“That’s what I thought. Something in between this one and the last one.”

“I still can’t believe my baby girl’s getting married.”

“Don’t start crying again, Dad,” Iris said. “You’ll make me cry.”

“I’m allowed to cry; you’re all grown up. I’m so proud of you, Iris.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

* * *

An elevator fall late night meant an early morning. Officers from the night shift had handled the scene, and the body had already been taken to the morgue, but David showed Joe the photos.

“That’s a lot of blood,” Joe said. David nodded.

“We’ve only got one witness,” David said. “Unrau spoke to her last night, but said she was too rattled. She found the body when the doors opened.”

“Morning, Captain!” Barry said brightly. Joe raised an eyebrow. “It’s a nice morning?”

“Made sure he was on time for you, sir,” Patty said. Barry rolled his eyes.

“I hope neither of you had a big breakfast,” Captain Singh said.

“I did,” Barry said. He looked at the elevator. “Oh.”

“Do we have an I.D.?” Patty asked.

“Kurt Weaver,” David said. “He’s a billionaire.”

“And we have a reason to suspect this wasn’t an accident.”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “There’s multiple impact points on the ceiling, and here, look.” He pointed at a crack next to the door. “There’s stress all over the frame. You wouldn’t get repeated impacts if he’s just dropped, it’s like he was shaken.”

“Excuse me!” Cisco said. “Look at the badge.” He ducked under the tape, still showing his badge.

“Does he know that badge is just plastic?” David asked.

“I doubt he cares,” Barry said. He smiled and waved at Cisco.

“Sorry I’m late,” Cisco said. “Hair was playing up this morning.”

“It looks nice,” Patty said.

“Thanks! So, what- Nope.” Cisco covered his eyes. “That’s horrible.”

“We think there may have been a technical issue involved,” Joe said. “Which is your area of expertise.”

Cisco pulled a tablet out of his bag and inched towards the elevator.

“I can plug it in for you,” Barry said. “I already have my gloves on.”

“Please,” Cisco said. He passed Barry the cable and Barry plugged it into something. Cisco looked at the code. “Well, that’s not right. This code shouldn’t be here.”

“Someone hacked it,” David said.

“That’s what it looks like.”

“That explains the shaking as well,” Patty said.

“I might be able to I.D. the hacker, but I’ll need to get back to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Cisco said.

“Want a lift?” Barry asked.

“I’ll just breach,” Cisco said. “I do have something for you though.”

“Patty and I can finish up here and I’ll stop by at lunch?”

“Sounds good. I’ll have those results for you as soon as possible, Captain.”

“Thank you,” David said.

* * *

Tim Kwon came in after lunch. Barry had stopped his car after he’d lost control, and Cisco was looking to see if he could find out what had gone wrong.

Mister Kwon was fine, if a little shaken. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he was sure someone had interfered with his car, and to his knowledge, he couldn’t think of anyone who had the opportunity and means.

And then there was a grenade in the middle of the station. Joe hit the panic button on his phone just as the robot rolled into David’s office.

The explosion didn’t come, and Barry stepped into the room, not in his suit.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked.

“We’re fine,” Joe said. “Mister Kwon-”

“I have to go,” he said. “I have- I have to go-”

“If you wait for some officers, we can provide protection-”

“Whoever this is clearly isn’t bothered by you,” Mister Kwon said. He nearly ran out the door.

“Suit,” Joe said.

“I will next time,” Barry said. “Cisco’s on his way. The same code as he found in the elevator was in the car. Caitlin thinks it looks like a virus, the DNA kind, not the computer kind. So we’re looking for a metahuman.”

“So, we need to look for a link between Kurt Weaver and Tim Kwon.”

“They’re on it, Cisco’s sure he remembers the name from someone. He’s looking through his collection of old tech magazines with Hartley, Lily, and Charmer. She dropped by to train with Cisco and get coffee with Lily?”

“They don’t have coffee on Earth-19,” Joe said.

“Yeah, she said before,” Barry said. “But why is she getting coffee with Lily?”

“They’re friends.”

“Right. So, it’s yet another thing I missed.” Barry scowled.

“You’ll catch up,” Joe said. “Did something happen?”

“Eddie and I had a fight.”

“A fight.”

“About me going into the Speed Force.”

“Because you knew it was going to happen.”

“It was unstable. Someone had to and it wasn’t fair to leave Jay there. Would you rather it have been Wally?”

“Everyone understands why you did it, Barry,” Joe said. “Probably Wally the most, he’s been spending quite a bit of time with Jesse, Jay, and Max. But you do understand how much it hurt everyone. You were gone.”

“But I’m back now. Everything can go back to normal.”

“But for six months we thought we’d never see you again. You could have been dead, and we wouldn’t know. And Cobalt had your face, it was like we’d lost you twice in one day. And you knew it was going to happen and you didn’t tell anyone.”

“If I’d told Eddie, he would have asked me to stay, and I don’t think I’d have been able to say no.”

“I don’t think he would. He’d understand. It would still hurt, but you need communication if you’re going to have a healthy relationship, Barry. You were gone, and I think you need to acknowledge that.”

“I can’t do this again. After I woke up from the coma, I had this to focus on, and everything was different anyway, but it took me months to deal with the missing time. I missed most of the first year of my best friend’s relationship. Iris had all these new friends and they’d been through so much and I didn’t know anything. And it’s happening again. Wally and Linda got together, and I missed it, and Cisco and Lily are good friends with Charmer and I barely know her, Cisco’s fully embraced being Vibe, Caitlin’s embraced being Frost, Cecile moved in with you, and I missed all of it. Team Labs is a complete team without me, and I missed everything, again. I’m never going to stop missing things. I just want things to be normal.”

“You have superpowers, son, we don’t have a normal life. And I know it’s difficult, but you got your head around it the first time. You’ll manage again. But you need to sit down and have a proper conversation with Eddie.”

“I will.”

Joe looked at the door.

“Right now?”

“I need to talk to David about this bomb and second attempt on Tim Kwon’s life, and Cisco hasn’t found the link between them yet. Go on.”

“Right. Thanks, Joe.”

* * *

Cisco arrived with a magazine, several files, Wally, and Charmer. He walked straight into David’s office.

“I found it,” Cisco declared. “Four years ago, Tim Kwon and Kurt Weaver worked on a tech app called Kilgore then sold it off for ridiculous amounts of money.”

“You do realise you were temporarily a millionaire, right?” Wally asked.

“Yeah, but that was way too much money to comprehend, so billions is just ridiculous. Who even needs billions of moneys?”

“Mister Ramon,” David said.

“Right. Here you go.” He handed David a magazine. “They worked on the app with two other people, Sheila Agnani and Ramsey Deacon.”

“He was here earlier,” Joe said, pointing to Deacon.

“Then I guess Deacon’s your metahuman and Ms Agnani is your next target. Caitlin, Lily, and Hartley are working on something to stop his powers.”

“Joe, get over to Agnani’s.”

* * *

Wally came too, and Charmer tagged along since Lily and Cisco were both busy.

“Police work on Earth-1 is very different to being a Collector,” she said.

“Can you vibe Deacon?” Wally asked.

“I can try, but I’m still getting the hang of your Earth’s vibrations, Cisco’s better at vibing here.”

“What if I put a small bug in the house?”

“Why would you put a bug in the house?”

“He means something to listen to what’s going on,” Joe said. “And no, you can’t.”

“I could turn invisible and sneak inside,” Charmer said.

“You can turn invisible, that’s awesome,” Wally said.

“It’s more I can manipulate the vibrations so the human eye can’t see me, it’s like how Cisco goes blurry on camera.”

“Cool. Sometimes when I phase through electronics they explode. We found out when I accidentally blew up part of a robot.”

“Nice. Want me to go in?”

“That would count as breaking and entering,” Joe said. “I’ll just knock and ask to speak to her.”

“What if Deacon shows up?” Wally asked.

“Then you two can wait outside and deal with him if that happens,” Joe said. He walked over to the door and knocked.

No answer.

The door was ajar, and Joe pushed it open.

“Ms Agnani?”

Something was wrong. Loud music was playing, and Joe called out again, but there was still no answer.

He walked in.

Ms Agnani was lying on the floor, convulsing. Joe rushed to her side, and Wally and Charmer were there in seconds.

“That’s an insulin pump,” Wally said. He vanished and reappeared a second later with a syringe. He pushed it into Ms Agnani’s leg. “It’s all right. D- Detective, we need an ambulance.”

“Deacon took Tim,” Ms Agnani gasped. “He took Tim.”

“We’ll find him,” Charmer said.

* * *

Joe drove them back to S.T.A.R. Labs when the ambulance took Ms Agnani. Scott Anderson went with her to keep an eye on her.

“That was quick thinking, Walls,” Joe said.

“I had a friend in high school who’s diabetic,” Wally shrugged. “They were always careful, but we made sure we knew what to do in emergencies, just in case. They didn’t have a pump though, they just injected.”

“That thing’s for diabetes?” Charmer asked. “Interesting. We don’t have anything like that on my Earth. How do we find Deacon?”

“Hartley’s checking traffic cameras,” Wally said. “Caitlin, Cisco, and Lily are still working on their technological antibody idea.”

“Hanging out with you lot is never boring, is it?” Charmer asked.

“Oh,” Wally said. “Deacon’s started a livestream, Cisco’s tracking the signal. Barry’s on his way with Caitlin.”

Joe pulled up outside S.T.A.R. Labs and Wally ran the three of them in. Cisco’s voice came over the comms, despite Cisco sitting next to them in the Cortex.

“Did you put your voice in Barry’s suit?” Linda asked.

“It was supposed to be soothing,” Cisco said.

“Cisco, how much tech is in this suit?” Eddie asked.

“So much.”

“What’s going on?” Wally asked.

“Kilgore’s got control of Barry’s suit,” Iris said.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time!” Cisco said.

“Barry, you have to get away from him,” Iris said. “Barry?”

“Comms are offline,” Lily said. “And his defibrillator just went off.”

“Caitlin?” Iris said. “Caitlin, honey, can you still hear me?”

“Caitlin’s comms are offline too,” Hartley said. The phone rang. “It’s not for me.”

“Hello?” Iris asked.

“You have a collect call-”

“Guys, help!” Barry shouted.

“We accept the charges!” Iris shouted. “Barry?”

“I got away, but the suit’s still out of control,” Barry said. “It fired weapons at Caitlin, why do I need weapons, Cisco?”

“You’ve lost your powers before and still gone out!”

“Is she okay?” Iris asked.

“They just stun,” Lily said.

“You have to get the suit off,” Eddie said.

“I can’t, I tried.”

“It’s deadlocked,” Lily said.

“It’s what?” Linda asked.

“So if he ever gets knocked out criminals can’t get it off him,” Cisco said.

“Floatation mode activated.”

“What’s floatation mode?” Joe asked.

“It’s a raft,” Cisco said. “The suit inflates. He runs on water, what if he loses his speed then? He could drown.”

“I told you we should have just put an oxygen tank in there,” Lily said.

“Cisco!” Barry yelled. “What’s Babel Protocol and why am I ticking?”

“Cisco,” Lily said.

“We’ve fought an evil Barry before.”

“Cisco,” Laurel said. “What’s Babel Protocol?”

“The self-destruct?”

“Cisco!” Barry yelled. “How do I stop it?”

“You can’t without powering the suit down.”

“Lightning bolt,” Iris said. “You have to throw a lightning bolt, like Wally did with the Samurai robot.”

“Great,” Barry said. A buzzing came from the phone.

“There,” Hartley said. “The suit’s powered down.”

“Barry?” Linda asked.

“I’m going to be honest,” Barry said. “Self-destruct was not your greatest idea.”

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “Maybe not.”

“I’ll go and get Deacon.”

* * *

Deacon hadn’t been in Central City the night of the particle accelerator, or the Singularity. He hadn’t come into contact with the Philosopher’s Stone, and from his taunts, he knew exactly how he’d got his powers, and was refusing to say. All he said was that he wasn’t the only one.

Cisco was taking the tech out of Barry’s suit again, just in case.

And Eddie and Barry were holding hands.

“I take it you two talked,” Joe said.

“Yeah,” Barry said. “Thanks, Joe.”

* * *

Joe didn’t know whose idea laser tag was (probably Cisco) but meeting his kids and their friends for a picnic in the park with Cecile and Henry was always nice. Even if their friend group had grown considerably and Cisco seemed to have a rivalry with a teenager.

Besides, it got them out the house, and Cecile had brought up the pipes again.

“Joe, you have squeaky pipes?” Barry said, sarcasm dripping. Joe rolled his eyes.

“So, these aren’t new squeaks,” Cecile said.

“They’ve been squeaking for like eighteen years,” Iris said. “Dad used to say it gave the house a personality.”

“Pretty sure Dad still says that,” Wally said. Iris pulled out her phone.

“Caitlin, the Waxler-Waclawics broke up.”

“Oh no,” Caitlin said. “Two months before?”

“Who broke up?” Lily asked.

“They were the couple booked at the Propizo the same weekend as we were trying to book it,” Iris said. “They said I could have first chance at putting a deposit down?”

“I do feel a little bad for them,” Caitlin said. “But it was our first choice.”

“Two months before their wedding and they break up?” Linda said. “That’s bad luck.”

“It’s probably the stress of wedding planning getting to them and causing issues they didn’t notice before,” Laurel said.

“And that’s a breach alert,” Iris said. “We need to go.”

* * *

Harry was standing in S.T.A.R. Labs. He nodded.

“Allen. You’re alive.”

“Good to see you too, Harry,” Barry said. “How’s Jesse?”

“Fine. Good. She’s fine.”

“So, are you just dropping in or what?” Cisco asked. “Not that we’re not all happy to see you but no one’s tried to kill any of us all week, so I figure you’re about to tell us Zoom had a twin sister who’s up for it.”

“Really, Cisco?” Caitlin asked.

“What, none of our big bads have been ladies yet.”

“Lisa Snart,” Linda said.

“I don’t know if she’s a big bad or just a fun nemesis.”

“Yeah, and I actually prefer it without people trying to kill us,” Barry said. “But now you’ve jinxed us and I’m going to end today with a black eye, I can feel it already.”

“What, the black eye?”

“Harry,” Joe said. “It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise, Detective,” Harry said. “Zoloman was an only child.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Cisco said.

An alarm went off.

“First National and O’Sullivan banks have just been robbed,” Hartley said. “Central Bank’s only a few doors down if someone’s on a spree.”

“Golden Glider?” Laurel asked.

“She hasn’t broken Shawna out of Iron Heights yet, so probably not,” Lily said. “Can you all stop looking at me like that.”

“We’ll deal with it,” Barry said. “Coming, Wally?”

The two of them ran off.

* * *

“Well,” Wally said. “You did say you felt like it was a black eye kind of day?”

Barry did not look impressed. They’d only been gone a few minutes, and Barry did indeed seem to have a black eye, and Wally’s hair was smoking.

“Was it Lisa?” Henry asked.

“No,” Wally said. “It was weird, accidents kept happening all around her, I had to save the electrician from falling and setting the whole bank on fire, so Barry went after her and-”

“And she got away in a _Prius_ because someone split a whole barrel of marbles across the road and I slipped,” Barry said.

“At least it was just a black eye,” Eddie said. “Here.” He brushed his thumb across it and it faded as his blue flame sank into Barry’s skin.

“You’re the best,” Barry said. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“So now you’re not hurt, can I laugh at you?” Wally asked. “You fell over marbles like something from a cartoon.”

“You know you’re still on fire, right?” Barry asked. Linda emptied a cup of water over Wally’s head.

“Thanks, babe.”

“You’re welcome,” Linda said.

“Found it,” Cisco said. He played the footage of a woman walking into the bank. Just like Wally said, accidents kept happening in her wake, and she just walked into the vault. “That’s one lucky lady.”

“Luck’s not real,” Harry said.

“Of course it is,” Lily said. “If you flip a coin you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, so guessing correctly is luck.”

“Yeah, and my cousin Hector got cursed by an ex and he hasn’t been able to find a parking spot for three years,” Cisco said. Hartley nudged him. “That was relevant. We know magic is real, Hartley, we have met magic people.”

“That’s a fair point, actually,” Eddie said.

“Is it likely your cousin dated one of the very few people in the world that do have magic?” Laurel asked. Cisco shrugged.

“Maybe. Seems like his luck. While we’re on the subject.”

“It’s not luck,” Harry said. “It’s quantum entanglement.”

“I think I get it,” Barry said. “She raises her own probability of things going her way, which increases the probability of bad things going on around her?”

“Do we know anything about her?” Henry asked.

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “C.C.P.D. has a file, her name’s Becky Sharpe and in the three years she’s lived in Central she’s been rear-ended four times, been a victim of identity fraud twice, and a burglar stole her cat.”

“I thought you were going to say Becky Cooper then,” Iris said. Barry made a face. “All this talk about exes and bad luck.”

“Who’s Becky Cooper?” Lily asked.

“Barry dated her when we were sixteen, his first serious girlfriend. They broke up right after he introduced her to Henry, they had a fight about Eobard.”

“That wasn’t why Becky and I broke up,” Barry said.

“You refused to tell any of us what it was about,” Joe said. “But your fight was three days after you went to Iron Heights.”

“Yeah, I mean, she didn’t believe me, but that wasn’t what we fought about.”

“Then what was it?” Wally asked. Barry averted his eyes. “So, you definitely remember.”

“Barry, it’s been a decade,” Henry said. “I’m sure even if it seems trivial now, it was very important then, and I’m sure it wouldn’t matter if you did run into her again.”

“She, um, thought Iris and I were too close,” Barry said. “Said I should spend less time with her. I did point out that’s kind of hard when we live in the same house, but then she accused me of being in love with Iris, which, yeah, I had a crush on her when we were like ten, but then I moved in and things changed, but Becky accused me of cheating on her with Iris and then she called Iris some words I very much do remember and am not repeating ever, so I told her to leave.”

“She did what,” Joe said.

“This is why I didn’t tell any of you! I didn’t want Iris to know what she’d said, but then Iris told me Becky was now her sworn nemesis, so I assumed she’d said those things to you too.”

“No, I hated her for making you sad,” Iris said.

“Oh. Well, like Dad said, it was a long time ago, nothing she said was true, and I have an Eddie now who is much nicer and would never say words like that to anyone, but especially not you because you’re the best and I have always set relationships by ‘do they like Iris’.”

“I have a question,” Hartley said. “You said she’s been in Central for three years.”

“Yes,” Eddie said.

“After the Singularity. Certainly after the accelerator. Do any of her reports happen after Julian joined us?”

“Yeah, three of them.”

“So, she didn’t get her powers from the Philosopher’s Stone either. In fact, given this is what she chooses to do, I’d imagine she got them very recently.”

“How?” Laurel asked. “The same way as Deacon?”

“We might have left a few monitors in the suit that should have picked up on any dark matter,” Cisco said.

“We did take most of the tech out,” Lily said. “There is definitely no self-destruct in there.”

“Anyway, we can see if we can find whatever happened,” Cisco said. Joe looked at his phone. Cecile had sent him a message.

“Cecile needs me back home,” he said.

* * *

Cecile had called a plumber. Who had quoted fifteen thousand for new pipes through the whole house.

“We’re going to need some time to think,” Cecile said. “Thank you, we’ll call you.”

“Fifteen thousand,” Joe said. He sat down. “This house costs less than that.”

“We don’t have to get new pipes,” Cecile said. She sat next to Joe. “It is a big house, and it’s only the two of us. We could look for something smaller. Something a little newer.”

“You’re suggesting we move?”

“It’s just a suggestion.”

“I’m going to need some time to think about it.”

“I know.”

* * *

Cisco, Harry, and Barry had found where the dark matter originated from. And Cisco and Harry were bickering about it.

“Well,” Barry said. “The good news is it’s probably a one off?”

“We created them,” Joe said.

“Hasn’t that always been the case?” Hartley asked. “The first particle accelerator, the Singularity, the breaches, now this.”

“The Philosopher’s Stone wasn’t on us,” Lily said. “And technically the first particle accelerator was intentional by Reverse Flash, and the Singularity was mostly his fault too.”

“It does also support that the Speed Force is the source of the dark matter that triggers the metagene theory,” Caitlin said. “Cobalt did tell Iris that was how the Philosopher’s Stone worked.”

“There’s a bus load of new metahumans in Central City,” Laurel said.

“I’m sure most of them are nice,” Lily said. “Maybe Deacon and Becky Sharpe are going to be the only two who use their powers to commit crime.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Iris said. “Except Caitlin and I just lost two wedding venues because one was booked by someone else and one caught fire because a crème brulee competition went wrong.”

“I see how that would result in fire,” Cisco said. “But it’s not like we’re that unlucky.”

Joe’s phone rang.

“Hey, Cecile.”

“The pipes burst, and the house is flooding.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up. “Barry, I need you to run me to the house.”

“I thought I was never allowed to do that.”

“Now, Barry.”

Barry was standing next to Joe when he opened his eyes and saw the living room. Cecile was wearing wellies and water was flowing through the ceiling.

Barry darted out again, then came back covered in cobwebs.

“I found the water shut off,” he said. “Also, I have decided I do not like the crawl space.”

“Thank you, Barry,” Cecile said. “I’ll go and see what upstairs is like.”

“I think Harry was wrong about luck,” Joe said. “Is this all from Becky Sharpe?”

“No,” Barry said. “I don’t think so. This house is just, um, vintage.”

“You mean old.”

“No. Maybe. Maybe it’s a bit old.”

“Cecile suggested moving. Someplace new wouldn’t have quite so many problems.”

“I guess. But this is home, right?”

“My great-uncle bought this place when it was new. I spent Christmas as a kid in that kitchen with Grandma Esther teaching me to cook. Great-Uncle Ira did most of the plumbing himself. He left it to me to make sure I’d have a place to raise a family, since Grandma left hers to William. William and I used to climb that tree outside Iris’ window, the one you two used to use to sneak out.”

“I guess we were really bad at that,” Barry said.

“All my memories of raising you kids are in this house.”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “But you’ll always have those, and you’ll have us to remind you. I lost everything. And you and Iris, you gave me a new home, a new family. You, Iris, Wally, Dad, Eddie, everyone, you’re my family, and I love you. Doesn’t matter where we end up. If you’re there, it’s home.”

“When did you get so smart?”

“Guess you raised me right. And Becky did not jinx us, because Cisco just found her, so I’m going to go talk to her and prove something today can go right. Oh, if Wally stops by, can you tell him there’s something for him at S.T.A.R. Labs? I was going to do it earlier, but pipes.”

Barry gestured at the floor then darted off. Cecile came back downstairs.

“The carpet’s ruined, but I can’t see too much damage,” she said. “Did Barry leave?”

“He’s gone to find a metahuman,” Joe said. “I’ll go pick some things up so we can clean up this mess.”

“Okay, babe.” Cecile stepped up onto the sofa and gave Joe a quick kiss. “I’ll get started drying the floor.”

* * *

Joe got stuck in traffic on the way back, hit a pothole, and finally got home after changing the wheel to find the door jammed. Cecile wasn’t answering.

He shoved the door in. Now that would need fixing too.

Cecile was lying on the floor. Joe helped her up, and the electricity sparked. Parts of the ceiling fell in.

“What is going on?”

“Bad luck meta,” Joe said. “We have to get out.”

More of the ceiling fell in front of the door. Water leaked through and the electricity kept sparking.

Joe could smell burning.

“That’s not good.”

And then the electricity shut off.

“Is that good or bad?” Cecile asked.

“I don’t know.”

The ceiling had stopped falling at least.

“I think we should try and get to S.T.A.R. Labs.”

* * *

S.T.A.R. Labs was a mess. But at least no one looked hurt.

Barry ran in.

“Becky Sharpe is in Iron Heights,” he said. “Thank goodness that’s over. Thanks again, Laurel.”

“It does feel good to have the mask on again,” Laurel said.

“It suits you,” Lily said. She sighed.

“What happened?” Cecile asked.

“Oh, Becky Sharpe was having a lot of good luck, which made a bad luck field, which started the particle accelerator up again,” Cisco said. “But we let it go off because Harry worked out it would cancel out the bad luck, and Barry and Laurel caught her, so problem solved. Harry might stick around.”

“Yeah,” Wally walked in with Jesse. “About that.”

“Hi, guys,” Jesse said. “Dad.”

“Jesse,” Harry said.

“I think we need to talk.”

“We did talk.”

“No, we started to talk, and you ran off to a different Earth.”

“I like this Earth. The people are tolerable.”

“Love you too, Harry,” Cisco said. “When’d you get here?”

“About two minutes ago, Wally came to get my side of the story,” Jesse said.

“You can borrow my lab, if you’d like,” Hartley said.

“And whatever happens, you know both of you have a home here with us if you want one,” Cisco said.

* * *

Wally came back to the house to help clear up.

And fix the pipes.

“Guess I could have thought of that before,” Wally said. “The library has so many books on plumbing.”

“Thanks, Wally,” Joe said. “That was nice of you, going to talk to Jesse.”

“No one noticed I was gone, did they?”

“Wally-”

“It’s fine. I know they were busy. Barry’s back and he’s the Flash and he’s my brother and I love him. I think I just need to work something out in my head.”

“Whatever you pick, you’re my son, and I love you. Barry did say he wanted to talk to you about something at S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“I’ll go see if he’s still there. Thanks, Dad, love you. Bye, Cecile!” Wally ran off.

“Bye, Wally!” Cecile called from the kitchen. “He’s already gone.”

“You get used to it,” Joe said. “Sort of.”

“What a day.”

“Maybe you were right about moving,” Joe said. He sat on the sofa and Cecile sat under his arm. “It might make things easier.”

“Maybe I was wrong. It’s your family home. It seems only right your whole family has lived in it.”

“What?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Joe froze.

"Joe?"

He couldn't have a baby; he was nearly fifty. His children were adults, his baby girl was getting married, he couldn't have a baby.

A baby. With Cecile. Bringing in another member of their family with the woman he loved.

"Oh," was all Joe could say.


	3. Scarlet Speedsters

Jesse had stopped briefly to say hi. Barry made a note to drop by and see Jay and Max at some point. And he had no idea who Leo or Ray were, but Jesse seemed very insistent that they’d been very insistent they talk through their problems, so from the sounds of it, Harry wasn’t sticking around. He’d probably visit though.

Barry had called his dad. He’d gone into the clinic right before Becky Sharpe had gone into the casino, and they’d had a few issues, but everything was fine now. Caitlin and Iris had left to do some more wedding planning, that was getting close. Hartley, Linda, Eddie, and Laurel had gone out for some non-alcoholic drinks. Cisco and Lily were just finishing something up downstairs, and Barry was waiting.

Wally ran in.

“Hey,” he said. “I thought it was Star Trek night.”

“It is,” Barry said. “How was Earth-2?”

“Good,” Wally said. “Ronnie and Jason say hi, and Iris and Barry.”

“Maybe we should stop by at some point.”

“Maybe in about six months,” Wally said. Barry frowned. “Iris got a promotion after Zoom, she’s Captain now.”

"Wow."

"She did add on that was partly due to Zoom killing almost everyone else, but Barry made sure I knew it was because she was the lead on so many of the Zoom cases."

"She deserves it. What about Wally-2? Has she talked him out of becoming a cop yet?"

"The opposite, Iris-2 told him he'd make a good one, but he says he found his calling with journalism. He's back in Central though."

"That's good. Why six months?"

"Iris is pregnant."

"Oh wow. That's awesome."

"And weird?"

"Kind of, but they're not us, they just look like us and share our names. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“You know you can talk to me about anything, don’t you?”

"I know, I know, I just... I just don't know where I fit," Wally said. "You guys had that handled, you're back, you don't need me to pretend anymore."

"I don't know if we can call that handled," Barry said wryly. "I cuffed myself, a sign landed on me, Laurel had to help get the sign and cuffs off me, and the particle accelerator blew up again.”

“And no one noticed I wasn’t here?”

“Wally-”

“No, I get it. It kind of sucks, but I know you were busy. You don’t actually need me here.”

“Maybe not, but you’re still my favourite person to run with.”

“You’re mine too. I love Team Labs. You guys are my family, I love you, I just... Is it bad if I say I feel like I've outgrown Kid Flash?"

"No. You're right. You have."

"Barry-"

"I get it, Wally. People always see you as the sidekick, and even when you were in both suits it was like you were in your own shadow. Besides, you're really not a kid."

"Thanks, Barry."

"I meant that to build up to something, I honestly thought I could stall for longer than this."

"You're stalling?"

"Yeah. Um, Samaroid ripped the other Flash suit when he hurt you, so Cisco and Lily decided to make you a new one."

"That was your old suit, the one they modified to fit me, my suit is fine."

"Well, they made me a new one, it seemed fair they made you one too. Apparently they've been working on it for a while, they just wanted to check something."

"Check what?" Wally asked.

"The colour," Cisco said. He and Lily pushed in a mannequin, wearing a Flash suit. It was scarlet, like Barry's, with an open top cowl like Wally's Kid Flash suit, and silver inserts to Barry's gold. Wally reached out to touch it.

"Iris' article says Scarlet Speedsters," Barry said. "Flash."

"Are you serious?"

"There's no reason there can't be two Flashes."

"Won't it get confusing?"

"Eh, we're fine when Jay shows up, and confusing the press will probably help us keep our secret identities."

"Do you like it?" Lily asked.

"I love it," Wally said.

"Great," Cisco said. He attached an emblem to the chest. "Want to take it for a spin?"

"Want a race, Flash?"

"You're on, Flash."

* * *

Two Flashes had an extra advantage: nights off. The Flash actually could be in two places at once now. With the different costumes, people knew they were different people. Some of them had even figured it was Kid Flash in a new costume. But they were both the Flash now.

And if Wally took a shift, there was nothing about to interrupt a proper Star Trek evening with Cisco and Lily. Well, maybe an alien invasion. Something that would need all hands on deck. But Wally could handle it, and he had Linda and Hartley, probably Laurel too, maybe Iris and Caitlin if they weren’t busy wedding planning, Barry’s dad could help with any medical related things, and Eddie and Joe and Cecile. That was plenty of people, all the three of them had to do was pick a film.

“How about Beyond?” Lily asked. “That was pretty good.”

“We are in another Barry hasn’t watched Star Trek for months situation,” Cisco said.

“But I’ve just blanked out all that time,” Barry said. “It’s like I went in and five minutes later, you got me out again.”

“You remembered where you came out,” Lily said. “Maybe more will come back?”

“Or not,” Cisco said. “Maybe it’s like my vibes, maybe whatever you saw in there was too much for anyone to remember. We could try translating those weird symbols again.”

“I don’t know,” Barry said. “Maybe it’s better I don’t remember. It would help me get a better grasp on time though.”

“Oh, it’s that again,” Lily grimaced. “You picked it up eventually last time?”

“It’s just weird. Wally and Linda are dating, Cecile moved in with Joe, Iris and Caitlin are getting married in just under two months, Laurel’s been out as the Black Canary again, I missed a lot again. Oh man, I missed Hartley’s, Iris’, Caitlin’s, Linda’s, and your birthdays.”

“You were gone six months,” Cisco said. “That’s a long time.”

“It’s just difficult,” Barry said. “I missed pretty much everything that’s going on in Star City.”

“To be fair, we’re also not sure,” Lily said. “But it’s something to do with Black Siren and some guy and the FBI might be investigating Oliver? Laurel went to visit her dad the other day and she still doesn’t really know. Or what the Legends are doing, they retired because of this Time Bureau but now they’ve stolen the _Waverider_ again?”

“Honestly, I’m not going to try and understand them,” Barry said. “What else did I miss?”

“Kendra and Carter got married again and are expecting,” Cisco said. “They didn’t have a wedding you missed, they just eloped, Kendra said they’ve done the wedding thing a few times, this was just to make it official during this life, the baby’s the bigger this. Apparently, they’ve had a couple but with Savage after them it was never really an option for them, but it is now. Kendra’s not sure about the wedding, it’s around her due date, but she’ll try. I’m pretty sure she’s anxious to get back out there superheroing, but Carter’s looking forward to being a stay-at-home dad so that works.”

“Wally said Iris and Barry-2 are expecting too,” Barry said. “We’re grown-ups, aren’t we?”

“I mean, you’re twenty-eight,” Lily said. “I’m twenty-nine. You’re in a steady relationship, our friends are getting married, other friends are expecting babies, and I still live with my mother.”

“Maybe you could try online dating,” Cisco said.

“I’m good. You know my luck; I’d probably meet a supervillain. I have you lot anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re stuck with us,” Barry said. “We could start with The Motion Picture then work our way through.”

“Not a bad idea,” Cisco said.

* * *

C.C.P.D. was busy when Barry arrived, and Mayor Bellows was talking to the press.

“Re-election season,” Joe said.

“Oh, right,” Barry said. “Already.”

“Keep up the good work, Detective West,” Bellows said. All the reporters turned to Joe. Barry nudged him.

“Will do,” Joe said. The reporters turned away again.

“That’s why he’s not gone into politics,” Bellows said.

“Come on,” Joe said. He walked with Barry up to his lab.

Barry walked over to his board and lifted the map up, to where he’d put everything he could find on the bus metas.

“You took down everything from your mother’s case,” Joe said.

“We solved that one,” Barry said. “We haven’t solved this one. Caitlin said there were twelve signatures on the bus, not including the driver, and we’ve found two, that means there are ten more bus metas out there.”

“Not including the driver?”

“No, he’s dead. He drowned in his own bathtub; Iris is seeing if she can find out anything else. And the Department of Transport said over nine hundred people rode that bus that day, so there’s not a lot to go on.”

“You don’t think it was an accident.”

“Someone created the Samaroid which pushed you to get me out the Speed Force, creating metahumans. I don’t know how they could have predicted where I’d come out, or who would be on the bus, maybe they had something there which pulled me to that point instead of Ferris Air, but if they created the Samaroid, they want something. Harry said he thought it was connected.”

“Let’s hope Iris finds something,” Joe said. His eyes flicked to the door.

“Is something going on with you?” Barry asked. “You seem distracted this morning.”

“Nothing’s going on.”

Barry pulled the map back down and Patty walked in.

“Hey, guys,” she said. “Captain Singh’s looking for you, Joe.”

“Thanks, Patty.”

* * *

S.T.A.R. Labs looked quiet when Barry, Eddie, and Joe arrived at lunch. Barry’s dad, Iris, Lily, Charmer, and Dante were in the Cortex, but there was no sign of anyone else.

“Where is everyone?” Eddie asked.

“Mari called Wally about a starfish from space, so he went to help her with that, and Hartley, Caitlin, Linda, and Laurel went to help too,” Lily said.

“Right.”

“We’ve fought an army of telepathic gorillas from another Earth, that’s not that weird for us.”

“I miss my girlfriend,” Iris said. “Fiancée.” She gasped. “I’m going to be able to call Caitlin my wife in six weeks and three days.”

A scary looking man walked into the Cortex.

“He went to the Speed Lab,” Dante said. The scary man left again. “Your work is so weird.”

“This is not a normal day, ignore them.” Cisco stuck his head out from under the desk. “Hi. I tried vibing the bus again and I either saw my own birth or my own death, so that’s not going to work. I feel like birth, it’s terrifying, you go from this nice, warm safe space that’s all you’ve ever known and suddenly there’s light and noise and prodding brothers and so much all at once and you have to learn to breathe on your own so quickly.”

“Too much dark matter interferes with our vibes,” Charmer shrugged.

“Cisco, what are you doing?” Joe asked.

“Running away, see you all later.” Cisco crawled out from under the desk and sprinted down the corridor.

“What is going on here?”

“My dad decided to hunt Cisco to prove I could visit this Earth and not get caught,” Charmer said. “Apparently One-One-One Day was not an easy day to get out of.”

“One what?”

“Earth-19 Valentine’s Day,” Lily said.

“And Dante,” Barry said. “You’re here because...”

“It’s Cisco’s birthday and I came to remind him Mama and Dad are expecting him and Hartley at six o’clock but he’s being chased around the city by a strange man from another Earth and his partner is off fighting an alien.”

“But Cisco’s birthday is in- Oh, it’s October.”

“I’m going to call Dad and get him to break the news to Mama Vibe stuff is interfering with her dinner plans, because I am not going to be the one to tell her that.”

“It’s October,” Barry said. “I missed Wally graduating.”

“You’re back now,” Barry’s dad said. “That’s the main thing.”

“Found something,” Iris said. “One of the things found in the bus driver’s belongings was an I.O.U. dated the day of the wormhole, it’s for a P.I. named Ralph Dibny.”

“Ralph?” Barry asked.

“You know him?”

“He drops by the station sometimes,” Joe said. “He’s been doing it for longer than Barry’s worked there. Hasn’t so much recently.”

“Barry and I can go pay him a visit,” Eddie said.

* * *

“Is something going on with Joe?” Eddie asked as the two of them walked out the alley Barry had run them into and towards Ralph’s office.

“He won’t tell me,” Barry said. “He’s distracted though.”

“It’s one of those days,” Eddie said. He slipped his hand into Barry’s.

“I have an important question to ask you,” Barry said. Eddie raised an eyebrow. “I know I said I was just looking after McSnurtle for a few weeks.”

“Yes. And I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

“Would you like to adopt a tortoise with me?”

“I would love to.”

Barry kissed his cheek.

They’d reached the doors to the building Ralph’s office was in. Eddie held it open for Barry to walk in first.

“I’ll ask Wally if he knows who we need to speak to when he gets back,” Barry said. “I’m sure it won’t take long.”

It didn’t take long to find Ralph’s office either. The furious woman storming off, clutching a file, was a clue. And someone had crossed out investigator and replaced it with dick. Eddie shrugged and pushed the door open.

“Mrs Broome, I really didn’t-”

Ralph turned his chair and looked at them.

“Oh, it’s you two. What’d you want, Rookie?”

“I’ve worked for C.C.P.D. for over five years now, Ralph,” Barry said. “What was all that about?”

“Husband faked his death and ran off with another woman, I was trying to cheer her up and I take it she doesn’t like shrimp.”

“Right. Were you on the 405 bus three weeks ago at around half seven in the morning?”

“Do I look like I get the bus at seven thirty?” Ralph asked. He gestured at his cheap old suit, the slight weight he’d put on around his waistline, and the messy office. “Why?”

“Because the bus driver’s dead and your card was found, with an I.O.U. from three weeks ago.”

“I was going to pay him back; I’m not going to kill someone over a bus fare. I just need a case.”

“No one’s accusing you of having anything to do with that,” Eddie said. “We just need to find out who was on that bus.”

“Because the driver’s dead?”

“Because we think the people on that bus were exposed to something potentially dangerous,” Barry said. Ralph sat up slightly. “Have you noticed anything odd in the last three weeks?”

“No, nothing,” Ralph said.

“You’re sure,” Barry said.

“Why are you investigating this, Rookie? You’re a C.S.I., you don’t work with witnesses.”

“I needed a scientific input,” Eddie said.

“Oh, right. Your dad know you’re dating a cop?”

“Yes, both of them,” Barry said. “Eddie’s had dinner with them, I’ve met Eddie’s mother and grandmother, and we’re adopting a tortoise together, did you see anything or not?”

“Nothing springs to mind,” Ralph said. “I’ll keep my eyes open. But I am expecting someone, so later.”

“Call us if you remember anything,” Eddie said. Barry felt his hand slip inside Barry’s as they turned to leave again.

They walked out the building.

“When’d you meet Ralph?” Eddie asked.

“I think I was about eighteen,” Barry said. “He’d just started his P.I. business.”

“Before you became a C.S.I.”

“Yeah. And even when I did start, people just knew me as Joe’s kid. I had to be good at my job, I had to prove I could be taken seriously. It didn’t really change till the lightning. It wasn’t that I was only there because I was Joe’s kid. Captain Singh, he’s a good captain, he saw my C.V. and everything I guess when I applied for the lab tech position, everyone knew I was there because he thought I was the best person for the job, I earnt my place, but I guess it’s harder for people to see you as an adult when they’ve seen you eleven and screaming for your parents. Chyre and Vukuvich were the main ones, Sobel, the detective before you, he used to call me kid, you know. Hamish, Scott, Will, Daniella, they’re different because they weren’t a lot older than me, and obviously Mary started after I’d been struck so we actually didn’t meet until I came back and people, I don’t know. It was just different. Maybe because I was gone for so long?”

“Or maybe they realised just how good you were,” Eddie said. “I know James and Angela are very good at their jobs. And this time we had Julian and Patty started, but you are missed when you’re not there. I know you get a lot of work, but it’s because they trust you, and they value your input. You notice things.”

A scream came from behind them and Barry and Eddie turned around to find Ralph hanging off the roof of the building, with his legs stretching as he slowly fell to the floor.

“I think he was on that bus,” Eddie said.

“Yep.”

Barry and Eddie rushed over. Whoever had dangled Ralph off the building had let go and run off, but Ralph’s legs were still stretched out.

“Hey, Ralph,” Barry said. “Were you on the 405 at around half seven three weeks ago?”

“Allen, what the hell is this?”

Eddie put a blue flaming hand on Ralph’s shoulder, and nothing happened

“What the hell is that!”

“I think you need to go to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Eddie said. “They can fix this.”

“How?”

Barry called Lily.

“Is Vibe still doing his thing?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Lily said. “Need a breach?”

“That would be great.”

“Charmer says she can help, hang on.”

Lily hung up and a breach opened. Charmer jumped through, then raised her hand.

“Hang on,” Barry said. “This is Ralph.”

“Is he a Plastoid? They invaded Piradell when I was a child, they’re the reason interdimensional travel is banned, and coffee is extinct.”

“I don’t understand any of those words,” Ralph said.

“No, he was on the bus,” Barry said. “We need to get him to S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“And also hide him from my dad. He’s still distracted with Cisco though.”

“I feel like we should help Cisco,” Eddie said. “Somehow.”

“I won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Ralph shouted.

* * *

Iris ran into the Cortex yelling and holding a shoe. Barry wasn’t really surprised; Ralph’s legs were still stuck and stretched out into the corridor.

“What is going on?” Iris asked.

“Iris, Ralph, Ralph, Iris,” Barry said.

“That explains nothing.”

“Yeah, Allen, explain what’s happening to me and how I can blame you for it.” Ralph pointed his finger at Barry and then it flopped down. He shrieked again. “Allen! Fix this!”

“I’m a forensic scientist!”

“It’s your cells,” Barry’s dad said. “As far as Lily and I can tell, it looks like the cell walls have elasticised.”

“Like putty,” Lily said.

“And you can fix this.”

“No, I’m a nanoscientist, I don’t know about cells. I mean, I do know about cells, and an above average amount about cells, and a lot about dark matter and I did develop a anaesethic to work with a speedster’s metabolism, but no, I’m not the person you want to ask that. Henry?”

“I’m a medical doctor, not a biochemist.”

“How’s the starfish thing going?” Eddie asked. “I think we need Caitlin.”

“They’re still busy,” Lily said. “Jesse did biochemistry.”

“I know someone,” Iris said.

* * *

Alex Danvers blinked.

She blinked again.

“So, is your Earth always like this?” she asked.

“No,” Lily said. “Maybe just Central City. Your Earth gets invaded by aliens.”

“And there’s all that weird stuff that goes on in Gotham,” Alex said.

“That happens here too, Gotham is just like that.”

“It’s a mess on my Earth too,” Charmer said.

“What are you talking about now?” Ralph asked.

“I’m from another Earth,” Alex said.

“You’re an alien.”

“No, but my sister is.”

“There’s a multiverse,” Iris said. “Do you think you could help, Alex?"

“I’ll need a sample of DNA from before whatever this is happened.”

“I’ll pick something up,” Barry said. “I’m going back to your office, Ralph.”

“I should get back to C.C.P.D.,” Eddie said. “I’ll let Captain Singh know you’ll be in soon, Bare.”

“Need some help?” Dante asked.

“Are you just avoiding home now?” Barry asked.

“I’m waiting for Mama to show up to yell at Breacher.”

“All right, come on then.”

* * *

Ralph’s office was a mess. Finding something might be harder than Barry thought.

“Cisco can handle himself,” Dante said.

“Cisco is more than capable, yes,” Barry said. “And Charmer’s promised not to let Breacher touch him.”

“Is she...”

“She’s our friend. I missed a lot, she’s closer to Cisco and Lily I think, like I’m not exactly sure when Iris became good enough friends with Alex that she can go ask her for help, but Charmer has the same powers as Cisco, originally she was going to help him learn to use the blasts and she can cut me off from the Speed Force, but they’re just friends now. He’ll be fine. None of us will let anything happen to him.”

“He gave you up once.”

“You’re his brother. I’d already told him if telling your parents he was working with the Flash would help he should. I’m not angry with him, I’ve never been angry with him about that. I understand, if I’d been there I would have given Snart my name too. I didn’t know you, but I do know you’re his brother, and he’s one of my best friends. Cisco has saved my life more times than I can count.”

“You care about him,” Dante said. “Good. Can you get DNA from hair?” He held up a hairbrush.

“That’s perfect,” Barry said. He pulled an evidence bag out of his pocket. Dante opened the drawer a little more.

“Bomb,” he said. Barry sped over, grabbed him, and phased them both through the floor just as the floor exploded. He ran back in to grab everyone else he could.

He could drop Dante and the brush off at S.T.A.R. Labs without stopping; it seemed like C.C.P.D. would need him very shortly.

* * *

“Anything?” Captain Singh asked.

“I think all the evidence was destroyed by the blast,” Barry said. “I haven’t even found a fingerprint, just some residue proving the bomb was in the drawer.”

Barry scraped a little of the residue into an evidence bag.

“I can try analysing the composition of this, see if that can tell us anything about where the materials came from?”

“It’s the best we’ve got. I’ll send Thawne and Joe to talk to Dibny. I don’t suppose you know where he is?”

“Actually...”

* * *

“Allen, you blew up my office!” Ralph yelled as soon as Barry walked in with Eddie and Joe.

“Pretty sure it was whoever stuck a bomb in your desk, but sure, blame me,” Barry said. 

“Ralph, who wants you dead?” Joe asked.

“I have pissed off a lot of people,” Ralph said. “Mostly newly ex spouses.”

“Well, we’ll assume it was whoever was dangling you off the building this morning,” Eddie said.

“I don’t know who they were.”

“You don’t know,” Joe said. “They didn’t say anything to you before dragging you up there?”

“Not a word,” Ralph said.

“We’re trying to help here,” Barry said.

“And I don’t need it.” Ralph looked at his legs. “Maybe I need Doctor Danvers’ help, I don’t need yours.”

“Ralph,” Joe said. “People are trying to kill you.”

“I can handle it.”

* * *

“Thanks, Dad,” Barry said. He hung up and sighed. Quarter to five; Joe and Eddie would still be downstairs.

Mayor Bellows was too. He clapped Barry on the shoulder as he walked past.

“Good to see you back safe, Barry,” he said.

“Um, thank you, sir,” Barry said.

“About your dad...”

“Oh, yeah, water under the bridge, it’s not like metahumans were a known thing seventeen years ago, right?”

“Why don’t I give you a lift? From the sounds of it, Joe and Detective Thawne are going to be working late.”

“Oh, that’s very nice of you, sir, but I haven’t quite finished my shift yet, and I have to give an update on a case to Detective Addie, and I have some more tests running upstairs so I think I’m going to be here for a little while yet. But thank you for the offer. That’s Mary, good luck with the election, sir.”

Barry darted off.

“You okay, Barry?” Mary asked.

“Yeah,” Barry said. “You got that file, right?”

“Came through fine.”

“Great. Do you know where Joe is?”

“He was talking to Bellows in Captain Singh’s office with Eddie.”

“Thanks.”

Barry darted into Captain Singh’s office.

“Dad called,” Barry said. “Alex stabilised Ralph’s cells and he left.”

“Great,” Eddie said. “Because apparently he’s blackmailing the mayor.”

“Oh. I haven’t found much from the residue yet, but I think whoever set it knew what they were doing. There’re no fingerprints and if there was DNA it was destroyed in the blast. Guessing not an ex-partner.”

“All right,” Joe said. “I think you need to go grab your suit and find Ralph.”

* * *

Barry found Ralph in an alley- or rather, he stopped by S.T.A.R. and Charmer and Iris helped- with Bellows and two officers, both of whom were aiming guns at Ralph. Joe and Eddie had taken up positions out of sight.

“Flash,” Bellows said. “This man’s a blackmailer.”

“Am not,” Ralph said. “You offered me money first.”

“Cool,” Barry said, voice vibrating. “But whatever he did, you guys are the ones trying to kill him, right? So maybe for the best that I just arrest all of you?”

“I’m sorry you had to get caught up in this, Flash,” Bellows said. The two officers opened fire and Bellows darted off.

Time slowed and Barry reached to catch the bullets.

Except the one that flew in from behind.

Barry froze, but Ralph’s chest just stretched, and the bullet popped out the back again, flying back towards the third officer who’s taken up position at the other end of the alley.

Barry knocked the three officers out.

“What the hell,” Ralph said.

“Plastoid!” Breacher jumped through a breach, aiming his hands at Ralph. Cisco and Charmer both jumped through another breach, both suited up.

“Woah, woah,” Cisco said. “He’s not a plastoid, he just got hit by some dark matter that maybe might have a little bit been our fault. But he’s not a plastoid, and I won’t let you hurt him.”

“Listen to Vibe, Daddy,” Charmer said. “That’s not the way they do things on this Earth.”

“Flash,” Eddie came running over. “Bellows took Joe.”

“What?” Barry asked. Eddie pointed at a helicopter. “Oh man. Err, Vibe?”

“I don’t think so,” Cisco said. “They’re stationary, that’s moving, and if I opened a breach and caught the tail in, it’s coming down, and Joe is in there. Jump off a building.”

“Like you said, it’s moving. Hey, Ralph, that stretchy thing you did.”

“No way,” Ralph said. “You want me to catch a helicopter, are you nuts?”

“Joe’s up there.” Barry pulled down his cowl and Cisco face palmed. “Please.”

“Oh great.” Ralph sighed then stepped back and tossed his arm.

He caught one of the feet of the helicopter.

“Wow, that’s not going to last long,” Ralph said. “You need to be quick.”

“I’m the Flash, that’s kind of my whole thing?”

Barry pulled his cowl up again and ran up Ralph’s arm. Just had to get to Joe.

He ran in and grabbed the gun from Bellows, right as a second streak of lightning ran up Ralph’s arm and into the cockpit.

Barry waved at Bellows.

“Cecile’s pregnant,” Joe blurted out.

“Huh,” Barry said.

“Awesome,” Wally said. “Um, I know I’m a bit late, and I know this is really bad timing, but do either of you know how to fly a helicopter? Because we might be about to crash.”

“Good to see you too, Flash,” Barry said.

* * *

Somehow, they didn’t crash, and Captain Singh was already waiting for them, with help.

“We’ll take it from here, Flash,” Captain Singh said. “Both of you.”

Wally waved and smiled.

“Coming, Detective?” Wally asked. He didn’t wait for an answer before picking Joe up and running. Barry took after him, all the way back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Ralph and Eddie were already there, and Hartley, Laurel, Linda, and Caitlin.

Iris didn’t even stop to say hi before rushing up to Joe.

“Pregnant? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I was going to.”

“Congratulations, Joe,” Barry’s dad said.

“All right, so Charmer and Breacher are off on their way,” Cisco said. “You’re about to be a dad again, how was the starfish thing?”

“Yep,” Wally said. “That was a thing.”

“It’s ten to six,” Dante said.

“Hartley, get changed, we have to go,” Cisco said.

“Oh, happy birthday,” Caitlin said. “I barely saw you this morning.”

“Awesome, thanks, Hartley, quick.”

“I’m kind of gross,” Hartley said. “I have blood and space starfish on me.”

“Cool, shower, change, I will breach us directly into the dining room.”

Cisco grabbed him and Dante and opened another breach.

“You guys are so weird,” Ralph said.

* * *

Barry ran to Ralph’s office while they went through the wormhole stuff. They’d already got everything they could from the crime scene, and there was enough left he could easily redecorate in the three quarters of an hour it took for Ralph to get back.

“Guess it’s no longer blown up,” Ralph said.

“It was the least I could do,” Barry said. “Thanks for your help today.”

“So. The Flash.”

“You remember I got struck by lightning?”

“Your friends covered everything.”

“What happened with the mayor?”

“I got hired to keep an eye on him and found evidence of corruption. Also a few pictures of him with a woman who isn’t his wife. He heard about the pictures and tried to buy them back before I could send them to the press.”

“You were going to send it all to the press.”

“Sure. I uncovered corruption within C.C.P.D., why would I trust them with it?”

“You can trust Captain Singh. That’s why you wouldn’t talk to Joe or Eddie or me?”

“I don’t know much about Thawne. I know his father is a politician in Keystone and knows Bellows. I know Joe worked with Bellows. And he’s in your file.”

“Because he was one of the detectives on my mother’s case. The one where they only considered my dad and didn’t bother looking for other evidence? Which there definitely was because fourteen years later Cisco found dried blood from that night that turned out to be Eobard Thawne’s. Who, yes, is Eddie’s descendant from the future, but Eddie’s good. Eobard pretended to be Harrison Wells and when Eddie found out he erased him from existence. I mean, sure, men in lightning did sound like just a traumatised eleven-year-old back then, but still.”

“Right.”

“Who put you up to this?”

“I never met them, they just called with a tip-off. Only left a surname too, DeVoe.”

Barry’s eyes widened.

“You know the name.”

“Last year we met Abra Kadabra, he was from the future, he mentioned DeVoe. And when I went to the future, long story, I heard the name again, apparently I fight him at some point.”

“Sounds like a mystery.” Ralph’s nose twitched.

“That’s really gross.”

“You did this to me.”

“Not intentionally. You could help.”

“Help with what?”

“Finding out about DeVoe. Solving the mystery. And if you want, you’re a metahuman. We can help with your powers. Train you to use them? It’s a way to help people.”

“I’ll consider it.”

* * *

“How was the starfish thing?” Barry asked, finally flopping down on the sofa next to Wally.

“Yeah,” Wally said. “It’s bad right? I mean, we saved the day, we kept everyone safe, everyone got home, Starro got taken back to space by this green space dude who showed up, it’s all good in the end.”

“Sounds like it.”

“I love these powers so much. I love being the Flash. And I really love being the Flash with you instead of taking up a mantle because you’re gone, and I love being a superhero.”

“Me too.”

“Eddie said you had a question for me?”

“Yeah. Who do I need to talk to about adopting McSnurtle?”

“I guess Dad and I owe Iris brownies.”


	4. Enter the Villain, Stage Left

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” Hartley said.

“Except Barry said that,” Cisco said. “He said ‘Cynthia, your world’s in trouble and Cisco’s brother, so I’ll help you’. Or something like that. And if Charmer is that Cynthia, then Dante-”

“Barry was talking nonsense; he doesn’t even remember.”

“What if it wasn’t just nonsense?”

“Then we’ll figure it out, ‘Sco,” Hartley said. “If you need help, or Dante, you know everyone will come running.”

“I know. I just...”

“We also changed the future before.”

“Time is unpredictable,” Cisco said. “There are countless futures, and those span countless universes. But what if it’s this one?”

“You haven’t vibed anything.”

“That I remember. I forget vibes all the time. There’s way too much for one mind. I think that’s why Barry was like that. The multiverse is infinite, every situation playing out over and over, every decision splintering and fracturing, it’s so big, no mind can hold all that information. No mind could hold all the information of all time in our single universe. So, I forget.”

“Cisco,” Hartley said. “You know I love you. Whatever happens, I will be there with you. If Dante gets himself into trouble with some end of the world type nonsense it’s because he was trying to save you, in which case he won’t be alone. He’ll be fine.”

“I know. I just…”

“I know.”

* * *

Cisco seemed to be slightly less worried in the morning. He breached them straight to S.T.A.R. Labs, he got on with his latest project, and he seemed fine.

Everything seemed fine for the next few weeks. Barry and Wally were attempting to train Ralph, that didn’t seem to be going quite as well as Barry had hoped.

And they didn’t have any leads on who else had been on that bus yet. Not even with Eddie and Iris stopping by at S.T.A.R. for a few hours. And they were a little distracted.

“The newspaper said Iris West-Snow,” Iris said.

“It also said West-Allen,” Lily said. “You don’t have to pick that just because that’s what the newspaper said.”

“Snow-West also sounds good,” Wally said.

“Cisco?” Caitlin asked. “What would you do?”

“Probably something quiet with my parents, Dante, Abeula, Jerrie, and you guys, this whole white wedding thing seems really stressful,” Cisco said.

“I meant with names.”

“I’d take Cisco’s name,” Hartley said. “Why would I not take the opportunity to lose my parents’ name?”

“And I like my name,” Cisco said. “Eddie?”

“I’d take Barry’s name,” Eddie said. “I doubt Barry wants to share a name with Eobard, and if I’m not a Thawne, I can’t pass it down to him. And Barry already turned down the chance to change his name to make things easier when he was younger because he didn’t want to lose that connection to his parents, he’ll probably want to keep it. Besides, I like Barry’s name. It’s nice. Allen seems friendlier than Thawne.”

“You sound like you’ve thought about that,” Iris said.

“I don’t know. Maybe a little. But this is going to be your name, it has to be your decision.”

“You could just invent a name if you wanted,” Lily said. “You could be Iris and Caitlin Organa if you wanted.”

“I’m not naming myself after a Star Trek character,” Iris said. Cisco and Lily both opened their mouths to protest but didn’t seem to be able to find the words.

“Barry’s not here,” Wally said.

“He’ll know,” Iris said. “I like my name. Caitlin likes her name.”

“The only disadvantage is Barry’s snow puns,” Caitlin said. “And I still have ice powers and he would still make all of them.”

“You could keep your names,” Hartley said. “You both have recognised work under your names.”

“Yes,” Caitlin said. “But we’re getting married and would like to share a name.”

“Hence hyphenating,” Iris said. “We just can’t decide which way around sounds better.”

“I know,” Wally said. “You could have two surnames; you can be Iris West-Snow Snow-West.”

“No.”

“Iris West-Snow and Caitlin Snow-West?”

“Slightly better. I’m telling Linda you’re taking her name.”

“First of all, I would take Linda’s name in a heartbeat if that’s what she wanted, second of all, it hasn’t even been a year yet, give me at least another two before I go ask Dad for proposal advice.”

“Flip a coin,” Cisco said.

“You want us to make a decision like this based on luck,” Caitlin said.

“You can change your minds later,” Hartley said. “If you change your name then decide the other one was better, just change it again.”

Barry walked in with Joe. Both of them looked tired.

“Let me guess,” Lily said. “Something really weird happened in Central City.”

“Our prime suspect in a murder is a stone statue,” Barry said. He held up an evidence bag with a few scrapings of stone in. “Want to see if we can work out what’s up with this, Caitlin?”

“You know where my lab is,” Caitlin said.

Barry walked over with her, and Lily.

“Anything else we can do to help, Dad?” Iris asked.

“Not unless you can tell me which artefact Jim Fox was transporting before he was killed,” Joe said. “We know it was for Wetherby’s and we know it was Native American, but the only other thing we know is that it was stolen.”

“There’s several possibilities in the catalogue,” Cisco said, pulling it up. “Do we have a size reference?”

Linda walked in, with Ralph.

“Something’s going on,” she said. She looked at Cisco’s screen. “That’s a bison necklace.”

“Yes,” Cisco said. “Is that significant?”

“We tried that idea of Caitlin’s, hypnotising Ralph to job his memories?”

“I thought we didn’t know anyone who knew how to do that,” Wally said.

“Barry called Doctor Finkel. He remembered a man crying and a bison.”

“It did work?” Ralph asked.

“It says the necklace is part of a set,” Iris said. “It doesn’t say where the third piece is, but the second is in a collection owned by Christopher Banks.”

“Come on, Ralph,” Wally said. “Get your suit.”

“I have a suit? Why am I going?”

“Because Barry and Caitlin are doing science. Cisco, Hartley?”

“I’m going to try tracking down this DeVoe again,” Hartley said. “I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me.”

* * *

The room they’d converted to an office was right next to the Cortex. It hadn’t been Eobard’s office. That had been stripped of anything that had been left in there a long time ago, all the important business paperwork had been brought to this office, and Eobard’s had been locked and left.

There were a lot of empty rooms in S.T.A.R. Labs. One more wouldn’t make any difference.

Hartley usually used their office when he went over the accounts, but it seemed like it would be a good place to look for DeVoe. It didn’t have so many distractions as the Cortex or a lab.

He opened his laptop and started with a very simple google search of the name “DeVoe” and “Central City”. Which came up with nothing useful.

Which meant he had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Cisco brought him lunch. He put a sandwich on the desk next to Hartley and sat in the other chair.

“Getting anywhere?”

“There are several thousand people with the last name DeVoe in Central City,” Hartley said. “Aged between ninety-three years and two days old.”

“I think we can probably rule out ninety-three and two days,” Cisco said. “Unless it’s time travel again and it’s baby DeVoe from thirty years in the future and that’s how he knew where Barry would come out the Speed Force.”

“Is this time travel again?” Hartley asked.

“I don’t think so. I hope not.”

“How’s the killer statue going?”

“It’s actually a woman, Mina Chaytan, she’s stealing Native American artefacts back from people who stole them in the first place, so I would totally say we just leave her to it, except she killed a guy and there’s a small girl in the hospital. But Barry’s probably working on his ‘there’s good in you and a better way’ speech as we speak. But she can bring effigies to life. Sort of.”

“If she’s down with not hurting people but still wants to commit crime...”

Cisco laughed.

“Are we at the joking about that stage now?” he asked. “Need any help?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed.” Hartley turned the screen so Cisco could see. “You could use the other chair.”

“I’ll just sit on your lap.”

“That sounds impractical.”

“Oh, fine.”

* * *

It was late evening before they narrowed down the results to one name, Clifford DeVoe. They had an address too.

Everyone else was starting to filter out of the Cortex.

“You two missed a fight with a dinosaur skeleton,” Wally said. Cisco’s shoulders sagged.

“But we have found a potential DeVoe,” Hartley said. “We’ll do some more digging.”

“You know what,” Barry said. “Let’s go get him.”

“Are you sure?” Iris asked. “We don’t know anything yet.”

“We know I’m supposed to fight him. We can stop him now before anyone else gets hurt.”

“All right,” Eddie said. “Where are we going, Hartley?”

* * *

Clifford DeVoe lived in a nice, suburban house, bigger than Joe’s but not extravagant, with a well-looked after garden. It didn’t stand out as the base of a supervillain, but then, perhaps that was the point.

Hartley waited in the S.T.A.R. Labs van with Linda and Wally. In his suit, but out of sight for now.

Barry, Joe, and Eddie had gone to talk to DeVoe. Barry had left his earpiece on and in his pocket, in case, but it was too muffled for Hartley to understand. He’d have to rely on Wally instead.

The others weren’t long. And they came back without DeVoe.

* * *

Eddie and Joe had explained. Clifford DeVoe was a professor of history at C.C.U., and in the past four years he’d been diagnosed with a motor neurone disease. Eddie had spun it to say they were searching for the person who’d called Ralph but with only the name DeVoe to go on, they had quite a big search. And Clifford DeVoe- and his wife, Marlize, also a professor at C.C.U.- both said they didn’t recognise the name when Joe gave them Ralph’s and showed them a picture.

Also Marlize DeVoe made excellent lemonade and, according to her husband, a three cheese macaroni that mentioning around Barry would normally probably have him start talking about dinner. Instead he seemed unsettled.

“Look,” Cisco said. “We’ll see what we can dig up about DeVoe our end, you can check police records. But maybe tomorrow, Barry.”

* * *

There wasn’t much. Marlize DeVoe had a sparingly updated Facebook page she predominantly used to keep in touch with old friends back in Oxford. There were some published research papers Cisco had put aside to read later. And that was it. There was nothing to suggest the DeVoes were anything other than the nice couple they seemed.

“Wally, you did mechanical engineering,” Cisco said.

“So did you. And Hartley.”

“I took physics with engineering,” Hartley said. “And both Cisco and I finished our degrees over five years ago, which is before the DeVoes moved to Central City. You never had any lectures with her?”

“A few cover lectures once or twice? She seemed nice, and very clever. Maybe Tracy’s had her?”

“I’ll call her later,” Cisco said. “She’s still working on her final dissertation, she’s probably too busy to help us.”

“Maybe your algorithm was wrong,” Lily said. “You said it wasn’t a complete match, just the most probable, and it didn’t consider time travel.”

“Maybe,” Hartley said. Barry ran in and held out a mug.

“Can you check the DNA on this for the metagene?”

“Is that Professor DeVoe’s mug?” Lily asked. “You went to see him again?”

“Something isn’t right,” Barry said.

“You know how to check for the metagene,” Caitlin said. Barry kept holding out the mug. “Fine.” She took the mug into her lab.

“Barry,” Cisco said. “We can’t find anything that says Clifford DeVoe isn’t exactly who he says he is. He pays his taxes, he donates to charity, he seems like a nice man.”

“Something isn’t right,” Barry repeated. “I don’t know what, but it’s like my spidey sense is off the charts with this guy.”

“Do not try and use Spider-Man as your argument,” Cisco said. “Maybe it’s the wheelchair.”

“Absolutely not,” Barry said. “He had a samurai picture in his house. He speaks Japanese.”

“I speak Japanese,” Wally said. “So do Hartley and Nate. And Nate has several books on ancient Japan.”

“Nate’s a historian.”

“And Professor DeVoe is a history professor?”

“I can’t see any sign of dark matter,” Caitlin said. “Everything seems normal, Barry.”

“Can you vibe it?” Barry asked. Cisco sighed, but he took the mug from Caitlin.

“I saw a very nice looking mac and cheese,” Cisco said. “It must be a different DeVoe, Barry.”

Barry didn’t look convinced, but his phone rang.

“Hi, Joe. Oh. I’m on my way.”

Barry disappeared again.

“Something’s up with him,” Wally said. “I’m going to go ask Dad.”

* * *

Barry was almost vibrating when he got back to S.T.A.R. Labs that evening. He didn’t calm down either, and he didn’t go home when Eddie did. And Eddie said the DeVoes had filed a complaint against him.

Hartley stayed back when Cisco left too, leaving just the two of them in the Cortex.

Barry suddenly turned and opened the Samauri helmet. Cisco had been trying to see if he could find out anything.

And Barry pulled something out of it and was about to run.

“What is that?” Hartley asked. “Barry.”

Barry dropped a camera into Hartley’s hand.

“It was on,” he said. He blurted out the rest.

“Slow down and try again.”

“It made a noise. It was on. He’s been spying on us with the helmet.”

“Barry-”

“It’s him!”

“And we will deal with that, but if you go near the DeVoes again, you are going to get in serious trouble.”

“He’s the bad guy, Hartley.”

“You don’t have proof.”

“This is proof! And I can get-”

“No. No. Stop. Look at me. I will trace it back externally.”

“But-”

"Barry. Look at me. There's a camera watching you. What does that remind you of?"

"It's not the same."

"Maybe not, but it's got enough similarities. You found out Eobard was watching you since you were eleven years old. Of course someone spying on you would set you off. You're worried about the future because you heard the name DeVoe and in relation to something bad."

"I'm right! I know none of you believe me, but-"

"I'll hear you out. If you consider that you're acting rashly and need to stop and think."

"What?"

"You confronted him at work and they filed a complaint against you. What's the next step?"

"Restraining order. Captain Singh would have to suspend me."

"You can't risk that. You love your job. Let me trace the camera back and go home, Barry. Just go home and sleep. Please.”

“Fine.”

“I mean it. Go home. Straight home.”

Barry sighed, but at least he trudged out the door.

* * *

"It didn't ping back anywhere?" Cisco signed when Hartley got home and explained everything, including his failed attempt to trace the camera. "But..."

"But it was a camera, and Thawne had them everywhere," Hartley signed. "It made a noise, Barry assumed it was on. Maybe it was never was, but that doesn't make a difference, it was a camera, it was pointing at him. Eddie said he went home and he’s keeping an eye on him, but I don't think I fully talked him out of doing something stupid."

“We’ll figure it out.”

* * *

Barry dropped by at lunch and looked confused when Hartley took him outside the Cortex and explained he hadn’t been able to get anything from the camera.

That quickly turned to determination.

“Barry,” Hartley said. “Where are you going?”

"The university,” Barry said. “I'm going to confront him."

"That's a really bad idea."

"It's him."

"Restraining order, Barry."

"But-"

"Fine, let me go."

"What?"

"Let me go and talk to him. That way you won't get in trouble and we can find out some answers. Deal?"

Barry nodded slowly.

* * *

Going to the university to talk to Clifford DeVoe might not be Hartley’s best idea. But if it stopped Barry going and maybe got him to drop this fixation, it was better than leaving it. Something about this was caught in Barry’s mind, and he’d tear himself up until they solved it, just like how Cisco said he was fine but Hartley knew he was still worried about Dante.

Hartley only caught the tail-end of the lecture. But Professor DeVoe met his eyes as he dismissed his students and Hartley took that as his cue to walk down to speak with him.

"Professor DeVoe, I hope this isn't a bad time," Hartley said.

"Not at all," DeVoe said. "What can I do for you, Mister Rathaway?"

"I wanted to speak with you about Barry Allen. I am ever so sorry for any distress he might have caused, and Barry is too, believe me, he understands better than most. He appears to be dealing badly with some trauma currently, and so he is acting a little rashly because of it. Once he's calmed down and taken a few steps back I'm sure he'll be incredibly remorseful."

"I doubt that," DeVoe said.

“He will be if he was mistaken,” Hartley said. “That does depend on him being mistaken.”

“Do you not trust your own work, Mister Rathaway?”

“I take it he wasn’t,” Hartley said. “The Samaroid, the bus metas, that was you. You were watching him. You were intentionally provoking him.”

“I was expecting him to visit today. And last night.”

“You’re not a metahuman,” Hartley said.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t plan for that? I’m the smartest man on the planet. My mind works even faster than your friend’s legs, Pied Piper.”

"Well, several of my friends are geniuses."

"You really think you can stop what's coming?"

"I've been hanging around with several optimistic superheroes for a few years now. I've got a pretty good feeling. Until next time, Professor.”

* * *

Everyone was in S.T.A.R. Labs when Hartley got back. And arguing.

“Barry, you have to drop this!” Joe shouted. Ah, of course.

“But Joe-”

“Barry,” Henry said. “Maybe you should try-”

“Barry’s right,” Hartley said.

“Where have you been?” Linda asked.

“The university. I went to talk to Clifford DeVoe.”

“You did what?” Laurel asked.

“You said the camera didn’t have a signal,” Cisco said.

“And it didn’t, but Barry seemed determined and this seemed like the easiest way to stop him. And he’s right. DeVoe knows I’m Pied Piper, I’m sure he knows Barry’s the Flash, he sent the Samaroid and the bus metas were on him, and he was intentionally provoking Barry. He said he expected to see Barry last night and today. I think he wanted a reason to take out that restraining order, Barry. I don’t know why, but you have to stay away.”

Barry nodded.

“He’s not a metahuman,” Caitlin said. “Cisco didn’t vibe anything bad.”

“He claimed to be able to think faster than Barry can run, and to be the smartest man on the planet,” Hartley said.

“And Time’s big,” Cisco said. “I only vibed one moment connected to that mug.”

“I was right?” Barry said.

“You were right,” Hartley said. “And I have no idea what to do.”

"We go and arrest him?" Wally said.

"No," Barry said. "You guys already looked and couldn't find anything. I think we have to let him move."

"There is that wedding we have to get to,” Lily said.


	5. The Return of the Rogues

Wally had never been so stressed in his entire life. He’d fought metahumans, he’d been to college and written a dissertation, he’d dreamt of another timeline and been unable to tell which one was real, and he was pretty sure none of it compared to offering to take over the final wedding touches for Iris.

Most of it was done. Iris’ dress had been at their dad’s for weeks. The caterers were booked with an approximate number. The Legends hadn’t officially sent their RSVP back, but Martin had given Lily numbers and Cisco had said Ray was allergic to gluten, but the caterers could deal with that. The seating plan was done, the cake would be there, the venue and officiant were booked, and the insurance paperwork was all done and signed off.

But there were flowers to arrange and deliver and guests to invite in, and Wally had offered to take over so Iris could just focus on getting ready.

At least he had Barry and Cisco to help.

“Are we really sure about not having a seating plan for the service?” Wally asked. “I don’t think Mick Rory should be anywhere near Grandma and Grandpa, or Doctor Tannhauser, definitely not near Wally, I mean the other Wally, what if we get confused on the seating plan for the reception-”

“Caitlin and Iris already sorted that,” Barry said. “Just relax. In half an hour, Iris and Caitlin will be here and they’re not me so they’ll be ready and on time. And you have the rings safe-”

“Oh, the rings, I put them-”

“You put them in your top pocket and already checked them six times in the past ten minutes, they’re safe.”

“How are you so relaxed right now? Cisco, why is he the relaxed one? Cisco?”

“You need to slow down,” Barry said. Wally blinked a few times.

“Oh,” he said as Cisco raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, I didn’t even realise.”

“You should probably stop doing that where people can see you,” Cisco said. “Kind of feels weird not going to a wedding in a church.”

“Iris is more agnostic, and Caitlin said she’s atheist, so Iris has memories of going to church with Joe but it’s not super important to her, so I guess a more non-denominal service fitted better,” Barry shrugged. “Joe’s started going to church again since Cecile moved in, occasionally, but I don’t think they have plans to get married. At least, not right now. I hope Eddie would be okay with at least partly Jewish wedding.”

“He would,” Cisco said. “I’d like a church. If Hart and I ever got married. I don’t know if we will or not, but if we did that’s where I’d like it to be. Probably the one I sometimes still visit with my parents.”

“Oh no,” Wally said. “Now you’re not paying attention.”

“Actually, we were trying to distract you,” Barry said. “Everything will be fine, Wally.”

“Now you’ve jinxed it. Why is no one here?”

“Because it doesn’t start for half an hour so no one’s going to arrive for the next fifteen minutes,” Cisco said. “Maybe ten minutes. Excuse me, miss?”

“Hi,” a young woman carrying a tray of drinks said. Wally was pretty sure he’d seen her come in with the caterers, and they were getting ready in the reception room, so that made sense. “I have sparkling waters if you’re nervous.”

“That would be great, thank you,” Cisco said. “He’s one of the brides’ brother.”

“I get it,” she said. Her eyes darted back to Barry after she passed Wally the glass. “Well, the catering is almost ready if that helps.”

“Maybe a little bit,” Wally said. She smiled and her eyes darted back to Barry again.

“You’re really tall,” she blurted out. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that, my sister Dawn says I have trouble keeping my mouth shut when I’m nervous, like she’s any better, it’s got me into trouble before. My ma said my dad was really tall, I don’t really remember him, he died when I was four, sorry, that’s really not the sort of thing you want to know, oh dear-”

“It’s okay,” Barry said. “I sometimes ramble too. First time catering a wedding?”

“Yeah.” Her cheeks flushed. “It’s just getting me thinking, you know?”

“Someone in particular?”

“There was a girl, back home, but I… I’m helping my step-cousin with something right now, and I left her behind without saying anything. I just wonder about my dad. Like, I know he’d support me, he was, well, he used to call me what his ma called him and I never- I really shouldn’t be saying this.”

“It really is okay,” Barry said. “My mother died when I was eleven, so I had a little longer with her, I do remember her. You should talk to this girl. I’m sure your dad would have walked you down the aisle if you’d wanted him to.”

“Thanks,” she said. “You should talk to your person too.”

“Wally!” Wally- his cousin Wally- waved from the door where he’d arrived with Grandma, Grandpa, Cecile, and Caitlin’s mother. Wally waved back.

The caterer had disappeared again by the time Wally turned back, and Barry had a slight frown on his face.

“Did she seem familiar to you?” he asked.

“Hi, Barry,” cousin Wally said.

“Hey,” Barry said. “This is Cisco, Cisco this is-”

“Iris’ grandparents, I remember,” Cisco said. “Nice to see you again. Hi, Doctor Tannhauser. No one else is here yet, so you get the pick of seats.”

“There’s no sides,” Wally said.

“He’s panicking, Grandma Ann,” Barry said. She nodded.

“Come on, Wally.”

“What?” Wally asked. She pulled him slightly aside and hugged him. His grandmother was really good at hugs. Wally was pretty sure that was who his dad inherited his hug skills from. “Thanks.”

“I’m sure Iris is also worried.”

“I just want her to have a good day and everything to go right.”

“And I’m sure she appreciates that very much, but all that’s left for you to is greet people, isn’t it?”

“I guess so. The caterers are already getting set up, everything in here is ready-”

“So, all you have to do is wait for people to arrive, and if there’s something that goes wrong with that, it was something outside of your control, so there’s no use worrying. What matters to Iris is that you’re here and you love her, and you’ve tried, she won’t mind if there’s a few things that aren’t perfect. All that matters is the people she loves are here.”

“Thanks, Grandma.”

The door opened again.

“I think you’ve got more people to see.”

“See you in a bit.”

Wally hugged her again and made his way back over. Cecile and Caitlin’s mother had already gone in, but Wally and their grandpa had waited.

“How does Iris know Oliver Queen?” cousin Wally asked.

“Long story,” Barry said.

“Come on, dear,” their grandma said. She led the other two inside and Barry waved at Oliver, Felicity, and William. Kara and Alex were right behind them, until Kara ran and threw her arms around Barry.

“You’re back!”

“I’m back!”

“And you didn’t even come and visit me. I thought we were superfriends?”

“You are my very best superfriend, way better than grumpy over there, Star City sucks.”

“Good to see you too, Barry,” Oliver said, rolling his eyes. “William, I’m sure you don’t remember Barry, he was with me the first time I met you.”

“Hi,” William said.

“It’s nice to properly meet you,” Barry said. “This is Wally and Cisco.”

“I know you,” William said. “You sent me my Flash backpack.”

“I did,” Cisco said. “He’s way better than Green Arrow, right?” He winked at William and smiled at Oliver.

“I don’t know,” Felicity said. “I think Supergirl is pretty cool.”

“Oh, obviously,” Barry said. “She’s even got super in her name, and it really fits. But have you seen Vibe?”

“The Flash is my favourite,” William said. “There’s two now but the first Flash was the first superhero with actual superpowers and everyone whose met him says he’s really nice and he always stops to make sure everyone’s okay after things happen. He even helped rebuild the whole city after the Singularity and everything.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool,” Wally said.

“Do you know the Flash? Because I know Miss West wrote all the first Flash articles and you know my dad.”

“He’s smart, I like him,” Cisco said.

“We’ll talk about this after the wedding,” Oliver said.

“My cousin Wally’s in there,” Wally said. “He’s a bit older than William, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to keep you company.”

“Your cousin is also called Wally?” Felicity asked.

“Cousin once removed, it was my great grandfather’s name and Daniel didn’t know about me when Wally was born because of that mess, so we decided both being called Wally would inconvenience everyone and would be hilarious at some point.”

“Right. Which side should we sit on?”

“Whichever, Iris and Caitlin aren’t doing sides.”

“Great. Come on, Ollie.”

“You ever think about trying to get married again?” Oliver asked.

“What?”

“Maybe wait till after,” Kara said. Felicity nodded and walked in with Oliver and William. “Winn, James, and Lucy say hi too.”

“How’s your stretchy friend?” Alex asked.

“He’s fine now,” Barry said. “Thanks for your help.”

“Any time. Does that happen often?”

“Ralph’s one of a kind,” Cisco said. “Thank God.”

There was no mistaking the rabble that came in next.

“Guys, we found Diggle and Lyla with small Sara and J.J.,” Sara said.

“Aww,” Barry said, immediately standing with Lyla. “He’s so cute, I can’t believe he’s so big already.”

“I’m big too,” baby Sara said.

“You are so big. Hey.”

“Nice to see you again, Barry,” Lyla said. “We’ll catch up after.” The Diggles went inside and Wally looked at the Legends.

“You lot,” Wally said. “Have you ever heard of an RSVP?”

“I sent it, I swear!” Nate said. “I sent it five minutes after we got the invitation, I even put that Martin, Ray, and Zari have religious dietary requirements and Ray’s allergic to gluten!”

“You’re Wally West,” Zari said. “You didn’t tell me this was Iris West-Snow’s wedding, and that means Linda Park-West will be here too, Ray, do I look okay?”

“You look beautiful,” Ray said.

“Future knowledge, Zari,” Sara said.

“Skirt.”

“Hi, Mick!” Kara said. “This is my sister, Alex.”

“Hi,” Alex said.

“Are we supposed to be here?” Sara asked.

“I told Lily how many of us would be here,” Martin said. He had his hand in Clarissa’s and she smiled too.

“It’s good to see you all anyway,” Ray said. “Especially you, Barry.”

“Yeah, Eddie said you were talking gibberish?” Jax asked.

“I have no memory of that, but apparently,” Barry said. “But I am now back and right as rain.”

“Who else is coming?” Zari asked. “Two of the best journalists who single-handedly started the resis-”

“Zari,” Amaya said. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“The Flash created a legacy and all because of Iris West-Snow and Linda Park-West’s writing. There are stories about Barry Allen coming back from the Speed Force to put a stop to the anti-meta laws.”

“Oh, like King Arthur,” Ray said. “Oliver’s Robin Hood and you’re King Arthur.”

“I met a Flash last year,” Zari said. “She saved my life. We’re friends.”

“So, who else is coming?” Sara asked.

“Oliver and Felicity are inside with William already,” Wally said. “And Grandma, Grandpa, Wally, Cecile, and Caitlin’s mother. I’m sure Eddie, Hartley, and Henry will be here soon. Scott from Iris’ work, Patty, Julian, Lily and Laurel are Caitlin’s bridesmaids and Linda and Joanie are Iris’ bridesmaids, Harry and Jesse are coming over from Earth-2, Ronnie and Jason obviously, they should be here soon, um, Mari can’t make it, she’s expected at a fashion show for work, Kendra and Carter can’t because baby’s very close and they need to stick close to the hospital-” A breach opened and Charmer jumped through. “And Charmer’s coming.”

“For as long as I can without arousing suspicion,” Charmer said. She opened another breach and Harry, Jesse, and Jason jumped through.

“Thanks, Charmer,” Jesse said. “Should we have done that in here?”

“Probably not,” Wally said.

“It’s good to see you, Professor,” Jason said. “Hi, Clarissa.”

“Hello, Jason. Is Ronnie already with Caitlin?”

“He went straight there, but I said I’d save him a seat next to me.”

“You should probably go in if you want seats near the front then,” Cisco said. Wally didn’t miss Sara sliding up to Alex as they went in. Harry nodded at them.

“How’s Earth-2?” Barry asked. “Still talking?”

“We sorted everything out,” Harry said. He smiled and followed Jesse inside.

Scott Evans and his girlfriend said brief hellos, there were a couple of Caitlin’s friends from med school, and Patty and Julian arrived together.

“Seems like you’re taking your tardiness to a whole new level, Allen.”

“Oh great, it’s you,” Barry said. He smiled. “Good to see you, Julian. How’s London?”

“Fine. How’s Central City?”

“Same old, same old, lots of crime, one bad guy with a plan we haven’t figured out yet.”

“I must say, I haven’t missed that part. Though I’m sure the lab is in shambles now you’re back in it.”

“Joke’s on you, Patty’s a great C.S.I.”

“James mentioned retiring though, if you’re looking for a place,” Patty said.

“To be fair, James has been talking about retiring for at least six years,” Barry said.

“I have a few more things to sort out at home, but perhaps after that,” Julian said.

“Hi, Julian,” Hartley said. He was with Eddie, Henry, and a girl with red hair and hundreds of freckles. “Caitlin’s almost here. Jerrie, you remember Barry and Wally?”

“I’m not sure we met,” Wally said. “But it’s nice to meet you now.”

Jerrie smiled and shook Wally’s hand briefly. She followed Hartley inside. Eddie whispered something to Barry, and he flushed lightly as Eddie made his way in with Henry.

“What?” Cisco asked.

“He was just promising to save me a dance,” Barry said. “My dad was standing right there.”

The door opened again. Lily and Laurel looked beautiful in their bridesmaid dresses.

And Caitlin’s dress was slim, simple, and suited her perfectly. Wally didn’t miss the irises in her bouquet. Her free arm was linked through Ronnie’s.

“Everyone should be inside,” Cisco said. “You ready?”

“Absolutely,” Caitlin said.

“You two have got this, right?” Cisco said. Barry nodded and he headed in with Caitlin.

“Iris will be here in a minute,” Barry said.

“Wait, the photographer-”

“Standing outside, we’ve been over this,” Barry said. “She’ll wait in the lobby after Iris comes in, then we’ll do a couple of group shots, then it’s time for the reception.”

The door opened again and Wally was suddenly face to face with Linda in a pale pink dress with her hair done up and a bunch of roses in her hands. Barry nudged him to remind him to breathe.

“Iris, you look incredible,” Barry said. And she really did- her dress was larger than Caitlin’s, if that was how people described dresses, and she had a thin silver necklace with a small sapphire pendant. Her hair was in its natural curls too, and her smile was radiant.

Wally just nodded in agreement.

“Everything’s set here, Wally’s taken care of all of it,” Barry said.

“Thank you,” Iris said. She kissed his cheek.

“Ready?” their dad asked.

“I’ll see you after you get married,” Wally said. He darted in to take his place at the front, next to Lily, ready to give Iris and Caitlin the rings when they needed them.

Music started to play and Barry, Linda, and Joanie walked down the aisle first.

And there was Iris, walking arm and arm with their dad, smiling with tears in her eyes, and Caitlin was smiling just as widely.

Iris took her place at the front, the music stopped, and people sat.

Everything was going fine. Wally could finally relax. Everything would be fine now.

“Welcome,” the minister said, and then gold covered the flowers above her head. Wally turned around.

“Ms West, Doctor Snow, sorry to ruin your big day,” Lisa Snart said. She blew some non-existent smoke from the tip of her gold gun.

“Are you kidding me,” Iris muttered. “Can we not even get married in peace, Bartholomew?”

“How is this my fault?” Barry muttered back.

“Is the Flash here?” Lisa asked. Barry sighed.

“What do you want, Snart?” Iris asked. Lisa studied her fingernails.

“Some friends of yours got my brother killed.”

“He sacrificed himself to save the world,” Sara said. “He chose it.”

“That doesn’t sound like my Lenny.” Lisa looked up. “Doesn’t sound like my Lenny at all. I did argue we’d crash the reception, I do owe you one, but if they’re all here now.” Lisa stepped forward. “Doctor Stein, always a pleasure.” She winked and Lily’s cheeks flushed.

“How is she so pretty and so bad,” Lily muttered.

“Can you please stop,” Cisco said.

“Snart, put the gun down,” Eddie said.

“Oh good,” Lisa said. “C.C.P.D. is here. Some friends of mine aren’t very happy about being arrested, and one in particular is very cross with your father, Ms West.”

The doors blew open, revealing Weather Wizard, Top, Mirror Master, Peek-a-Boo, Rainbow Raider, and the Tricksters. They’d picked up costumes from somewhere, and Mardon had a small tornado floating over his hand.

“They’re so dramatic,” Cisco said. “Do you think they rehearsed that?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Barry said.

“The DeVoes are going to show up next, right?” Lily asked.

“Probably not, it would give Captain Singh a reason to investigate them,” Linda said.

“I’m more interested in who designed their outfits,” Wally said. “Do you think Rosa walked into a tailor and intentionally ordered a green and yellow stripy dress?”

“I think we should probably go and get changed, actually,” Laurel said. “Did you three bring your suits?”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “Was that bad?”

“It probably just says something about our lives,” Cisco said. “Barry, help us sneak out?”

Wally picked Laurel up, dropped her in the back room where Cisco had hidden their suits earlier, grabbed his own, and ran back in.

“Flash,” Lisa said. “You did make it.”

“Can we not do this here, please,” Wally said.

“Ms West, Doctor Snow, you definitely got insurance, right?” Barry asked.

“There really are two of you now,” Axel said.

“Let’s just everyone calm down,” Barry said. “How long do weddings take, like four hours? Can you come back in four hours?”

“Well, you’re here now,” Mark said. “Might as well get it over with.”

He threw a hailstone at Barry with his other hand.

Great.

Bivolo’s eyes flashed red, and then Oliver’s did too.

“Hey, Vibe,” Wally said as Cisco and Laurel breached in next to him. “Do you think you can unwhammy people? I’m going to get Wally, William, Sara, and J.J. out of here.”

“Flash, take the Rogues,” Laurel said. “I’ll deal with Ollie.”

“Got it,” Barry said.

* * *

The middle of the Cortex floor probably wasn’t the best place to lie down, especially while it was crowded, but Wally was there anyway.

His side hurt so much.

“I can’t believe you shot me,” Wally said. “Why would you bring your bow to my sister’s wedding? I thought you were retired. Where were you even keeping it?”

“How many times do you want me to apologise?” Oliver asked.

“I just want to know where it came from.”

“I thought you heal quickly,” Felicity said.

“Yeah, but things still hurt, and we still scar,” Jesse said. “Didn’t Barry say where Oliver shot him while training is one of those never goes away pains?”

“Yeah, but I think it got cancelled out by Zoom breaking his back and everything else he did,” Wally said. “So, it’s not so much it’s not a problem it’s just there’s an even bigger problem that means it’s hardly worth mentioning. Where Samaroid stabbed me is definitely a bigger problem than this.”

“I have painkillers for my joints on the _Waverider_?” Nate said. “It helped with Jax’s knee and Sara’s chest that time.”

“That’s a nice offer, thanks, Nate,” Wally said. “But Lily’s anaesthetic is the only thing that works on us. Metabolism.”

“That still doesn’t explain where the bow came from,” Caitlin said. “You brought a bow to our wedding?”

Oliver gestured around the room to where most of them were in various stages of battered and bruised. Wally’s dad was with his grandparents and cousin Wally, Cecile, Joanie, Caitlin’s mother, Henry, and Clarissa at home, presumably keeping them distracted. Eddie, Barry, and Patty had had to drop by Captain Singh’s office. Harry had somehow been roped into watching William, Sara, and J.J. in Hartley’s office. Julian had taken Jerrie home for Hartley. Scott had ended up back at Picture News as far as Wally knew, and Caitlin’s med school friends had probably left too.

The rest of them had come back to S.T.A.R. Labs after Cisco and Hartley had managed to undo Bivolo’s whammies on Oliver, Nate, Alex, and Amaya. The Rogues had got away.

“Now what?” Lily asked, looking at Iris.

“We have to find them,” Iris said. “Getting married will have to wait.”

"Your villains are interesting," Kara said. "Is Central City always like this?"

"I would so love to be able to answer no to that question," Cisco said. "But this one time a telepathic gorilla lured us to another Earth so he could use Barry to defeat the leader of the telepathic gorillas of that Earth, then use me to get to this Earth and take over Central City, probably killing Barry along the way as revenge for sending him to that Earth, but we escaped, so he used Cynthia who's from yet another Earth to get here via brainwashing, then I went and found her while Barry, Wally, and Jesse held off the gorillas, we found the first leader of the telepathic gorillas so he could defeat him in battle and lead the gorilla army back to the other Earth."

"We met Grodd in Vietnam," Ray said. "And Mick's dad. He was going to shoot us as traitors. Mick's dad, not Grodd. Grodd controlled Sara and was going to make her kill Marty but Isaac Newton hit her round the head with a frying pan."

"I hate both of your teams," John said. "So much."

"You deal with ninja assassins and magic," Cisco said. "How can you possibly be judging us still?"

"It's mostly that you've fought a man shark and a telepathic gorilla on multiple occasions."

"I fight aliens!" Kara said.

"You are an alien," Alex said. "I think I like this world."

“I need to go and see William,” Oliver said. “I promised him I wouldn’t do this anymore. I’ll help you from here, but I can’t do that to him. And you’re sure Harry...”

“He raised me just fine,” Jesse said. “He’s probably explaining parallel worlds to William and Sara.”

“I think I need to go too,” Charmer said. “My father needs me.”

“Go,” Cisco said. “We’ve got this handled. If you need us, just send me a vibe.”

Charmer nodded and jumped through a breach. Cisco looked worried.

“I, err, I’m going to call Dante,” he said. He pulled out his phone. “No, I’m not, Barry says they need us at Iron Heights, Hart. They want to check the metawing for how Lisa broke everyone out.”

“She’s Lisa,” Mick said.

“Yeah, that’s probably the reason,” Cisco said. “But they still want to see us. I’m pretty sure you and Iris are the only two here who have ever considered breaking out of Iron Heights.”

“Iris?” Sara asked.

“I couldn’t let Barry plan how to break his dad out of prison on his own. I was thirteen.”

“I thought it was when you were fourteen,” Lily said.

“No, Barry was fourteen, it was just before my fourteenth birthday.”

“Any tips?” Hartley asked.

“No,” Iris said. “It’s not like we ever tested it, and Henry would never have let us. I’m sure it wouldn’t have worked.”

“All right,” Cisco said. “Come on, Hart. Feel like I should probably drive instead of breach?”

They left hand in hand.

“How do we find your Rogues?” Kara asked.

“If Weather Wizard uses his powers, we can track them,” Lily said.

“Alternatively, the Tricksters have never been subtle,” Linda said. “They don’t know what it means.”

“They’re your villains,” Sara said. “Cisco and I dealt with Top once, we can take her.”

“She teamed up with Mirror Master a lot, we’ve handled both of them together,” Jesse said.

“Plus, Shawna and Lisa have been working together ever since Barry went into the Speed Force,” Wally said. “Cisco and I know what to do with them.”

“And the Tricksters, obviously,” Iris said. “They kidnapped Henry.”

“Mark Mardon and James Jesse worked together once,” Linda said. “They did almost kill Barry.”

“But we’ve helped you with Mardon before,” Jax said. “Monument Point, remember, it was Mari, Barry, and Grey and I.”

“That sounds great,” John said. “But Barry and Cisco aren’t actually here.”

“I can take Bivolo,” Wally said. “That’s the very first thing I did as the Flash instead of Kid Flash.”

“You did get whammied,” Iris said.

“And I got back here and you unwhammied me. Barry’s been whammied.”

“Yeah, he punched me in the face,” Ronnie said. “I was merged to the Professor at the time, so it burnt his hand more than it hurt us. Also, Oliver shot him. Oliver shot him a lot that day, considering they’re supposed to be friends and Barry saved his life.”

“He did make Oliver hallucinate,” Felicity said. “He gave him rat poison.”

“That’s because you kidnapped a C.S.I. for emergency medical help instead of a doctor,” Laurel said.

“Wait, you kidnapped him?” Nate said. “I didn’t know you actually kidnapped him. You kidnapped him then Oliver shot him a lot, why is Barry friends with you?”

“I’ll get Team Arrow,” Felicity said.

“Do we actually need you?” Sara asked. “It’s just the Rogues, Team Labs and the Legends have got this handled.”

“Like how you had it handled at the ceremony?” Lyla asked.

“Um,” Kara said. “How long does whammying take to wear off?”

“Almost immediately,” Caitlin said. “Usually.”

“The people he whammied the first time had it worn off in a few minutes,” Ronnie said.

“Yes, but we already know that Barry and Wally have a delayed reaction and a much more severe reaction due to their speed, it’s also possible that Sara’s reaction could be more severe due to the effects of the Lazurus Pit.”

“I’m not whammied,” Sara said. “If I was whammied I’d be yelling at Lyla about what we saw A.R.G.U.S. become in Zari’s time, and Laurel for bringing me back, and-”

“She’s A.R.G.U.S.?” Zari asked. Wind picked up in the room. “You’re A.R.G.U.S.?”

“Zari,” Jax said. “I don’t know how it happens. I do know Lyla can’t have been involved. Sara, please.”

“Sara,” Laurel said. “Why don’t we go get some fresh air?”

“I don’t need fresh air!”

“I’m getting Dinah,” John said.

“I don’t need to see my mother!”

“Sara,” Laurel said. “Please look at me.” She tossed John something and a breach opened. One of Cisco’s extrapolators.

“I could go shout at Oliver,” Sara said. “He invited me on his stupid boat, and I made the biggest mistake of my life.”

“I forgive you both,” Laurel said. John had vanished and reappeared with three other people. “And I love you.”

“Yeah, Sara,” Jax said. “If you’d stayed dead, we would never have met, and I love you. We all do. You save time, you’re a hero.”

Caitlin and Ronnie flashed a green light and Sara scowled.

“I think I have a hangover. I may have been whammied.”

“What is going on?”

“Dinah, everyone, everyone, Dinah Drake,” John said. “The new Black Canary.”

“Laurel’s the Black Canary,” Sara said.

“If there are two Flashes, we can have two Black Canaries,” Laurel said.

“Guys, someone’s breaking into the Central Gold Reserve,” Iris said. “Get down there.”

“Who wants a lift?” Wally asked. Zari raised her hand. “Race you, Jesse.”

* * *

All the Rogues were there, and there were people. Wally put Zari down and Kara landed next to him and Jesse.

“Where’s the other one, Flash?” Shawna asked.

“Oh, we figured we could take you,” Wally said. Shawna disappeared and reappeared behind Wally, and Team Arrow and the Legends stepped through a breach.

“Mick,” Lisa said. “Still hanging around with these losers?”

“Your brother cared about them,” Mick said.

“They got him killed.”

“No, Lisa, he chose to give his life for you, and for me.”

“You’ve known me since I was a little girl, Mickey. You and me, we’re family. Who are they? Some washed up, reject heroes who got scooped up because no one would miss them? And their friends from Star City, we’ve heard they cause far more problems than we ever had, but they get away with it because someone branded them heroes. Not that the FBI agree. You’re not a hero, Mick.”

“Yes, he is,” Kara said. “He helped save the world from the Dominators last year. You all tried to kill the Flash.”

“Who are you?” Rosa asked.

“Um. Supergirl?”

“She’s my friend,” Wally said. “She lives on another Earth but she’s also an alien, and she’s also really nice.”

“That is pretty cool,” Mark said. “Congratulations on the promotion, Kid.”

“Thanks!”

“Flash,” Dinah said. “Are you having a conversation with your villains?”

“Do you not do that? Anyway, Lisa, other Rogues, if you could please stop stealing, that would be super great.”

“Flash, I actually can respect you,” Lisa said. “Just them, none of the rest of you.”

“Maybe Supergirl,” Shawna said.

“Maybe Supergirl,” Lisa said. “But we were expecting you. James?”

“You mean the bombs?” James Jesse asked. “Oh, yes, we had great fun with those, didn’t we, kiddo?”

“There’s twenty-five hidden across the city,” Axel said. “You’ll never find them, Flash. The other Flash couldn’t last time I hid a bomb.”

“And if you don’t let us go, we’ll set them off,” Lisa said. “Your choice, Flash.”

“And, just for you,” Mark said. Three tornadoes picked up outside. “We already know which the other Flash would pick.”

“Supergirl, get everyone to the bombs,” Wally said. “Quick, we can each take a tornado.”

“I’ll help you,” Zari said.

“On it,” Ray said. Wally shot outside as Ray picked Zari up. Jesse streaked next to him.

“You go left, I’ll go right,” Jesse said. “How fast?”

“Seven hundred miles an hour,” Caitlin said. “Stopping Clyde Mardon’s tornado was day one.”

“Piece of cake,” Jesse said. She shot around the right tornado and Wally shot around the left. Zari was in the middle, touching the red pendant around her neck, and whipping up another wind.

The tornadoes dissipated and Wally noticed the street was already empty.

Except.

A man in a yellow suit. He knew that suit.

“Well, well, well,” Eobard Thawne said. “Look at you, all grown up, Wally.”

“What are you doing here?” Wally asked. “If you go near Barry-”

“Oh, so he is still alive. Good. I wasn’t sure if I’d arrived too late to kill him.”

Wally ran forwards, but Eobard stepped out the way.

“Now, Wallace, you really think you’re faster than me?”

“I think if you hurt any of my family, I’ll make you regret it.”

“I see you’ve been dealing with Mardon again. Still with his vendetta against Joe?”

“Flash,” Jesse said. She skidded to a stop next to Wally and stared. “He’s…”

“That’s him,” Wally said.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Eobard said.

“I’m the Flash of Earth-2,” Jesse said. “Jesse Quick on this Earth.”

“Jesse Chambers. You do look different. Though I thought you were from Earth-38.”

“It’s Wells,” Jesse said.

“Thawne,” Eobard said. “Did they not explain?”

“Actually, I know everything,” Jesse said. “You can’t be working with the Rogues.”

“That’s not his style,” Wally said. “I thought he was erased from existence.”

“This timeline needs me, Wally,” Eobard said. “Surely now you’re a speedster you understand Time.”

“Not as well as Vibe does,” Wally said.

“Ah, so that’s why your Barry asked me about Cisco’s future.”

“You’re a paradox. The timeline needs you up to the point of the Singularity. You are being erased. Or you will be soon. You’re on a last-ditch attempt to get Barry and Iris together, aren’t you, hoping Eddie will go off and find whoever your many times great grandmother is. You’re too late.”

“How long ago was the Singularity?”

“Two and a half years ago.”

“I see. And I assume that means Iris and Caitlin are now married.”

“They will be by the end of the day.”

“Then I suppose I’ll go back to my original plan. I’ve time travelled, three and a half years is plenty for Barry to be cemented in history. And if he’s dead he won’t be there to distract my ancestor anymore.”

Eobard ran and Wally ran after him. Jesse and he were close, but Eobard was faster.

“Wally,” Jesse said. “We need to go back to S.T.A.R. Labs. If Eobard’s here, we have to warn Barry.”

“You’re right. Let’s go. So much for trying to give Iris and Caitlin a perfect wedding.”

* * *

The _Waverider_ had been left cloaked outside S.T.A.R. Labs and Zari was heading in when Wally and Jesse got to S.T.A.R. Labs. Jesse nodded at Wally and he ran inside after Zari.

Gideon didn’t say anything when Wally stepped on board. He rushed to the bridge.

“Zari?” Wally asked. The file she was looking at vanished. “Are you okay? Gideon?”

“She’s not working,” Zari said. “Apparently A.R.G.U.S. are getting involved with Iron Heights. I had to check something.”

“Sara said something about your time? You’re from the future.”

“A.R.G.U.S. killed my brother. There’s a lot. It started with metahumans.”

“You said Iris and Linda started a resistance, that Barry was a legend.”

“Once metahumans were illegal, they moved onto other minorities. Religions, disabilities-”

“And the timeline’s shifting,” Wally said. “Barry made Gideon, if she’s not working it means something happened to Barry, and Eobard Thawne is back and determined to kill him again. The file you were looking at…”

“My brother’s friend. He was the youngest, bar one, of his cousins, sort of cousins, and he was supposed to have a younger sibling, but one of his fathers died. A lot of his family don’t exist in this timeline, including my friend. I know they used to have a bigger family, before A.R.G.U.S., I know y- I know his uncle was killed by A.R.G.U.S., and his aunt, that’s why they had to hide. They tried but, well.”

“I know that Time is difficult,” Wally said. “But we changed the future last year. It meant we lost Barry, but I know that any of us will take that risk to change this. We will do everything we can.”

“I know you will,” Zari said. “We should go back inside. You need to tell them about Eobard Thawne.”

“Right.” Wally said. “You want a lift again? Barry said I’m the only person who’s ever enjoyed him giving lifts, before I got powers.”

“You’re not the first speedster I’ve met. And you’re Wally West, who’d turn down a lift from you?”

Wally smiled and picked her up.

* * *

Everyone in the Cortex was bickering.

“They got away!” René shouted. “We could have stopped them!”

“And people would have got hurt,” Iris said. “I don’t know how you do things in Star City but here we put saving people first.”

“But now they can go and hurt more people,” Felicity said.

“Then we’ll save them too,” Hartley said.

“Barry once nearly let Mardon and James Jesse kill him because it would mean saving other people,” Caitlin said.

“They’ll have another plan,” Amaya said. “Won’t they?”

“We should split up,” Oliver said.

“Who put you in charge?” Dinah asked. “I thought you retired.”

“This is an exceptional circumstance.”

“Still, these are Team Labs’ Rogues,” Jax said. “We should really listen to them?”

“They keep leaving,” Curtis said.

“We told you, they needed us at Iron Heights,” Cisco said. “We figured out Lisa knocked the dampeners out with an EMP, they’re working on it. That means Hart and I are back now.”

“So’s Eobard,” Wally said. Everyone turned to look at him. “Jesse and I saw him.”

“Who’s Eobard?” Alex asked.

“The Reverse Flash,” Iris said. “He murdered Barry’s mother. And the Earth-1 Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan and spent years pretending to be Harrison Wells. He made Barry into the Flash so he could use him to time travel.”

“Which he can now,” Wally said. “He kept his cowl up, but he asked me how long ago the Singularity was? I think it’s just after for him. He also said he doesn’t need Barry anymore so it’s back to his original plan.”

“We’ll stop him,” Jason said. “You said you thought Firestorm could stop a speedster.”

“Maybe,” Ronnie said.

“We know that Cisco can,” Lily said. “He stopped Zoom, and Eobard told Barry.”

“Eobard?” Barry appeared in the doorway with Eddie and Ralph. “The Rogues are working with Eobard?”

“No,” Wally said. “I don’t think so. But he is here, and he wants to kill you.”

“Oh. Same as always then. Hi, Dinah.”

“Barry. Dibny. Working for a West again?”

“With,” Ralph said. “Look how the rookie’s grown.” He ruffled Barry’s hair and Barry shoved him off.

“Still got a baby face,” Dinah said. “Remember when-”

“No,” Barry said. “I was eighteen, can you two please let it go.”

“Dinah?” Oliver asked.

“We’re not talking about it ever,” Barry said. “Let’s talk about Eobard showing up instead, we know he can’t kill me because I need to die in the Crisis-”

“You what?” Dinah asked.

“I’m the Flash, there was a newspaper from the future, long story, but he can’t-”

“Gideon isn’t working,” Wally said. Barry nodded. “And the timeline is shifting. Zari’s timeline is really bad and she said they start with anti-metahuman laws and some of her friends no longer exist, so they’re happening early.”

“We need to find Frankie,” Barry said.

“Barry,” Iris said. “If Gideon doesn’t exist-”

“I don’t care if it’s Eobard today or General Eiling next week, I’m not going to let them do this to people like Frankie. Zari-”

“It’s an aberration,” Jax said. “I don’t know if we can stop it now, but we can delay it.”

“No,” Barry said. “I don’t care how; we are stopping that from happening ever. That’s not supposed to happen, that is not going to be this world’s future and I don’t care if I have to end up in the Speed Force for eternity, or dead, or whatever, I am not going to let that happen.”

“And we’ll help you,” Sara said. “Iris?”

“We have to find the Rogues,” she said. “Eobard will show up himself. I’m a little surprised he’s not here already. We have to hope Lyla won’t let them start any of the rest.”

“I think I know how to stop Eobard,” Hartley said.

“And I can probably find Lisa,” Lily said. “I still have a number. It might not work, but I can try.”

“Why do you have Lisa Snart’s number?” Oliver asked.

“She gave it to me.”

“Lily,” Martin said. “You know I have no desire to interfere with your dating life-”

“Please don’t.”

“-and I know that Mister Rory is not what he first seemed, though I do still find it hard to reconcile that he once kidnapped you and perhaps I treat him poorly as a result-”

“Dad.”

“-but I really think Lisa Snart-”

“Dad, I am not going to date Lisa Snart,” Lily said. “Is she hot, yes, does she flirt with me every time she sees me, yes, did she kiss me once, yes, but I have no intention of ever dating her.”

“She kissed you?”

“I would rather have any other conversation right now. Literally anything else. Please.”

“I have good news for you, Lily,” Linda said. “I think we’ve found the Rogues.”

* * *

Apparently, they weren’t hard to find. They weren’t exactly being subtle.

“Flash!” Mark said. “Both of you made it this time!”

“Hey, Mark,” Barry said. “Are there more bombs? Because, I’m going to be honest with you, you already did the let us kill you or we’ll blow a load of bombs up thing once, if you just keep doing that, it’s going to get old really fast.”

“We don’t want to kill you,” Sam said.

“Really? Awesome. Did you just break out of prison to crash Ms West and Doctor Snow’s wedding then steal a load of gold?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Rosa said.

“There was no one actually around the bombs to get hurt this time,” Shawna said. “We checked.”

“Aww, you guys,” Barry said. “I probably should still arrest you. You know. For stealing stuff and setting explosives up around the city.”

A burst of red lightning ran in.

“Oh, great, you,” Barry said.

“Flash,” Eobard said. “It’s time to finish what we started.”

“Hey, Eobard. Can you come back later, the Rogues and I are in the middle of something and apparently if you kill me today it might screw up the timeline? Can you try next week?”

“You need to go back to therapy.”

“Probably.” Barry pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right, fine, we’ll go somewhere, Supergirl, you got this, right?”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Axel said. “We’re your Rogues, not theirs. You’re supposed to fight _us_.”

“I’ll help you break into anywhere you want if you kill him right now,” Eobard said.

“How will we be the Flash’s Rogues if there’s no Flash?”

“He’s actually got a good point there,” Wally said.

“There’s two Flashes,” Eobard said.

“And they’re both ours,” James Jesse said.

“I have been the Flash’s nemesis in multiple timelines, I created him. I’m his Reverse, he needs me.”

“Actually,” Barry said. “I’m pretty sure we established that you don’t exist if I don’t become the Flash, and also if Detective Thawne doesn’t have kids, but I’m still the Flash without you because the particle accelerator blew before you screwed up the timeline and even this timeline I decided to become the Flash myself, that was nothing to do with you, so really you need me, I don’t need you. What if I tell you I’ve decided Lisa’s my nemesis now? What if I tell you The Thinker’s my nemesis? What if I want Green Arrow for a nemesis?”

“I thought we were friends,” Oliver said.

“You did shoot him a lot,” Nate said.

“We are friends, I was speaking hypothetically,” Barry said. “My nemesis was probably Captain Cold, so maybe I need a new one, but I’d definitely consider you more as an acquaintance that I hate, Eobard.”

Eobard darted forward and had Barry pinned to a wall by his neck, one hand vibrating just over his chest.

“Yep,” Barry croaked. “Tell you what, you’re actually not just an acquaintance I hate, you’re a giant dick I hate.”

“Leave him alone!” Wally ran forward and elbowed Eobard off Barry. The two of them ran, and Wally chased after them. “So, um, Legends, Team City, Supergirl, you’ve got the Rogues, right?”

“We’re on it, Flash!” Kara said. “Are you sure you don’t need extra help?”

“Nope,” Barry said. “Incoming, Vibe!”

He shot through Central’s football stadium- the first place they’d fought- and Cisco shot out a vibe. Wally skidded in in time to see Eobard fly across the pitch, and a fused Ronnie and Jason raise their hands on one side, and Caitlin on the other. Hartley turned on the force field.

“Oh, very clever,” Eobard said. “I taught you all well.”

“Nah, we learnt this ourselves,” Cisco said. “Eddie, would you like to do the honours?”

“Eobard Thawne, you’re under arrest for the murders of Nora Allen, Harrison Wells, Tess Morgan, Simon Stagg, and Mason Bridge,” Eddie said. “And the identity theft of Harrison Wells.”

“And how exactly do you plan on getting those metacuffs on me without me running?”

“Can you just not?” Caitlin asked. “You all screwed up me and Iris getting married, can you just not? I am supposed to be going on my honeymoon, not trying to stop you trying to kill Barry yet again.”

“You’re supposed to be-”

“I don’t care what you think, I am in love with Iris West. Besides, Eddie and Barry make a cute couple.”

“You’re dating my ancestral grandfather too?”

“None of your business,” Barry said. “You murdered my mother, Eobard, and you hurt my friends, my family, how is that comparable to my falling in love with a wonderful man? You screwed up, this is on you, and you can’t fix your mistakes this time, not unless you’ve got some magic wand that can change reality.”

Eobard shot off and vanished through a breach before Wally and Barry could catch up again.

“Aww, man,” Ronnie said. “We nearly had the metacuffs on him.” He unfused from Jason. “Where did he go now?”

“I think I know,” Hartley said. He looked at Barry.

“Oops,” Barry said. “On the bright side, we know the Legends stop him?”

“Sorry,” Jason said. “Are you implying there is a magic wand that can change reality?”

“It’s a long story,” Caitlin said. “Cisco?”

“One breach to S.T.A.R. Labs coming right up.”

* * *

Wally was lying on the Cortex floor again. He didn’t have to be, he was just comfy.

“Well, the Tricksters, Mirror Master, and Rainbow Raider are on their way back to Iron Heights,” Iris said. “We’ll see if they actually get there.”

“Thawne’s about to run into the Legends last year,” Cisco said.

“Gideon’s back online,” Sara said.

“Good,” Iris said. “Good job, everyone. Cait?”

“I suppose we could just go and elope,” Caitlin said. “It might be easier.”

“Dad’s a rabbi,” Lily said. “You can marry them.”

“I could skip the Hebrew,” Martin said.

“We should probably wash up first,” Wally said. “And you need Dad at least.”

“All right,” Iris said. “Dad’s, half an hour?”

“That sounds perfect,” Caitlin said.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when Martin finally pronounced Iris and Caitlin wives and they kissed. Wally handed them the rings and wiped tears from his eyes.

At least he wasn’t the only one crying.

And his dad was the best and had managed to convince the caterers to let him bring the food home. Maybe it wasn’t freshly cooked, but it was still good, and there was still cake, and dancing. Outside. There was a lot more room outside.

Wally just smiled and watched Iris and Caitlin sway. Barry and Eddie weren’t far, and Wally’s dad and Cecile, Martin and Clarissa, Cisco and Hartley, and Oliver and Felicity.

“So,” Sara said, taking the seat next to Wally. “How often does Lisa Snart hit on Lily?”

“Is it important?” Wally asked. “I know you’re not interested, Ray told me about the mean Time Bureau lady even though you were wearing a blue dress earlier and Jax was wearing a blue tie, and now you're wearing a green dress and he's wearing a green tie?"

“Jax is my best friend,” Sara said. “He might have woken me up from a coma, but he’s my best friend.”

“Sure. I believe you.”

Lily walked over to dance with Laurel.

“Oh,” Wally said. “That makes sense. Laurel figured out a little more then.”

“I think so,” Sara said. “About these metahuman laws.”

“It’s not just those ones,” Wally said. “We will stop them.”

“Wally. I shouldn’t tell you anything. We shouldn’t have even told you they’re going to happen. But we went to 2042. And we didn’t see any of you. I know all of you would fight. The only reason I can think of that you weren’t there fighting-”

“I know. You heard Barry earlier. I really hate how easily he accepts that he’s going to die. He told Thawne back before the Singularity that him becoming the Flash wasn’t destiny, it was his choice, he didn’t want a destiny. He always fights but this he just accepts. But isn’t it what any of us would do?”

“Maybe just talk to him,” Sara said. “Not now. But tomorrow, maybe.”

“Tomorrow,” Wally said. “We’ll save the world again tomorrow.”

“Hey, Wally,” Linda said. “You want to dance?”

“Yeah,” Wally said. He took her hand and she pulled him up onto the grass. Iris stopped for a second to kiss his cheek.

“Thank you for trying.”

“Sorry your day wasn’t perfect.”

“I’m married to the woman I love,” Iris said. “It was.”

Cisco jumped at an alert. He pulled out his phone then sighed.

“False alarm,” he said. “It’s just an email from Nate with an RSVP and dietary requirements attached.”

“I’m sorry!” Nate said. “I thought I sent it to October!”

Iris laughed and kissed Caitlin. The two of them picked up their dance and Linda smiled at Wally.

Saving the world could wait till tomorrow. For now, they had a perfect evening to enjoy.


	6. Blacksmith

Cisco really hoped Caitlin and Iris were having a nice honeymoon in France.

Because he was getting thrown around the street by Top again.

“Come on, Rosa, did we not get enough of this last week?” Cisco asked.

“No, you ditched me for Reverse Flash.”

She fell forwards and Wally ran in with metacuffs. Hartley rolled his eyes from behind her.

“Low blow, Piper,” she said.

“Come on, Top, we all know Glider and Boo are probably planning on another prison break as we speak,” Hartley said. “Can you stand, Vibe?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Cisco said. “It’s just that everything is spinning. You got this, Flash?”

“One delivery for C.C.P.D. it is,” Wally said. He sped off with Rosa and Cisco groaned. Hartley pulled Cisco’s arm over his shoulder and helped him up.

“I assume you’re in no fit state to breach.”

“You’ve got an extrapolator,” Cisco said. “Please don’t tell me you rode here, but I love that my partner is a superhero with a cool custom motorbike and all, but there is no way I could stay on that. Just you two?”

“Barry’s at work and Laurel and Lily are making out in the Cortex again.”

“We are not!” Lily’s voice came through the comms. “All I did was kiss her a couple of times before she left for work, you’re just jealous I have a girlfriend now.”

“I am gay, Lily.”

“So am I?”

“He’s been dating me for three years?” Cisco said. Hartley opened a breach back into the Cortex. “Wait, are you and Laurel pulling a FlashVibe?”

“What the heck is a FlashVibe?” Ralph asked.

“It’s the ship name Barry and Cisco acquired in their latest feature in the gossip rags,” Linda sighed. “They decided to feed rumours they were dating as the Flash and Vibe so people wouldn’t find out both of their identities.”

“Has that actually worked?”

“Has anyone found out our identities?” Cisco asked.

“Clifford DeVoe,” Lily said.

“Anyone else?”

“Marlize DeVoe.”

“They should only count as one.”

“Hunter Zoloman.”

“That was before.”

“Eobard Thawne,” Hartley said.

“That was way before.”

“He’s from the future, it probably wasn’t.”

“An alternate timeline where Barry and I probably didn’t have this idea. Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”

“Am I?”

“I could fake date you,” Ralph said.

“Please no,” Hartley said. “One, I’d never be able to pretend to have feelings for anyone other than Cisco-”

“Aww, Hart, I love you too.”

“-and the only reason Cisco and Barry get away with it is people reading too much into them doing their best friend thing.”

“It’s because we hug a lot,” Cisco said. “He’s really good at hugs.”

“Barry does give good hugs,” Lily said.

“And two, do you think you could pull off being attracted to a man?” Hartley asked.

“Sure, wouldn’t be the first time,” Ralph said. “I’m bi.”

“Okay. We’re still not doing it. I’d say ask Wally-”

“But Barry told him Ray Palmer was too old for him, despite Ray being Ray?” Cisco asked.

“Also the only two people who thought this was a good idea was you and Barry,” Lily said. “How’s the vertigo?”

“All gone.”

Wally skidded back in.

“Top is with Captain Singh, the other four did make it to Iron Heights, so I guess Lisa’s just planning another jailbreak,” Wally said. “Iris and Caitlin will be back this evening.”

“You do seem to get more done with Iris and Caitlin here,” Ralph said.

“Maybe,” Linda said.

* * *

Cisco really hoped Caitlin and Iris had had a nice honeymoon. They deserved it. And they’d probably be tired, so none of them were expecting them to do more than just drop in. Paris was quite a few hours ahead.

Hadn’t expected Iris to run in on her own.

“Caitlin’s been kidnapped,” she said.

“Excuse me?” Hartley asked.

“We dropped into Jitters, we were going to pick up coffee for everyone, and then this woman came in and she had a power dampener and she took Caitlin.”

“We’ll find her,” Lily said.

Eddie burst into the Cortex.

“DeVoe took Barry.”

“Caitlin and Barry are missing?” Cisco asked.

“Caitlin’s gone too?” Eddie asked.

“I’ll get Dad and Henry,” Wally said. He darted out the room.

“Do you think whoever took Caitlin is also involved with DeVoe?” Ralph asked. “Iris?”

“It wasn’t Marlize DeVoe,” Iris said. “She had this black maybe leather outfit, and white dreads.”

Wally appeared again, with Joe and Henry.

“What’s going on?” Henry asked.

“Caitlin and Barry are missing,” Laurel said. “We know DeVoe took Barry, we don’t know who took Caitlin. Cisco?”

“Yep,” Cisco said. He closed his eyes. Barry first. He’d vibed Barry and DeVoe before, it would be easier than-

Cisco felt himself fly backwards and his head smack against the floor. Hartley and Iris were next to him in seconds.

“That’s new,” Cisco groaned. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I got nothing on Barry, and I think we can rule out vibing either of them for a while. Ow.”

“I need to check you for a concussion,” Henry said.

“I can get the satellite to look for cold spots, like when we were looking for the Cold Gun, and hope one of them is Caitlin,” Hartley said. “We can search for any speedster activity too.”

“That’s a lot,” Lily said.

“If you were in Jitters, someone’s going to have reported what happened,” Linda said.

“Wally, get Iris and I to C.C.P.D.,” Joe said. “They might have something. Eddie-”

“We were out the back, Barry was getting ready to run us here, he was deliberately in a blind spot.”

“Then perhaps the two of us should pay a visit to Professor DeVoe,” Hartley said.

“We’ll handle the satellite,” Lily said.

* * *

Cisco did not have a concussion. Just a headache. And so far, the satellite had found nothing.

Two of his best friends were missing and there was nothing Cisco could do. He hadn’t even found a connection when trying to vibe Caitlin. It was like whatever had stopped him vibing Barry had knocked his aerial out and now he couldn’t get signal. His other powers were still working, he’d tested that, so hopefully that meant his vibes would come back when his head stopped hurting, but he didn’t know when that would be and it could be too late. They had no idea what DeVoe’s motivation was, they didn’t know anything about why someone would take Caitlin, this was not good.

DeVoe had been at home. He’d even let Eddie and Hartley in. Barry hadn’t been there. Joe hadn’t been able to get anything from C.C.P.D. since he was off duty and a relative now, so not on the case. Captain Singh promised to send any updates they got. They were all on their way back now. Wally was searching the city on foot.

And the satellite kept sparking. Cisco had already caught Ralph yelling at it- maybe Sally wasn’t a bad name for a satellite actually- and he and Lily had both tried to boost the system, but it wasn’t enough.

Lily’s phone rang.

“It’s an unknown number,” Lily said. She hit answer, and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Lily. You answered.” Cisco knew that voice.

“What do you want, Lisa? I’m busy.”

“I know. This isn’t a social call. I heard you had a missing doctor.”

“Lisa, if you had something to do with this, I swear-”

“Iris would have recognised Lisa or any of the Rogues,” Cisco said.

“Hi, Cisco,” Lisa said. “Have you heard of Amunet Black?”

“Should we have?”

“Calls herself Blacksmith. She’s heading up Central City’s underworld. Doesn’t make public appearances often, and she’s got a lot of connections. I heard she showed up at Jitters earlier though.”

“What does she want with Caitlin?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know, but S.T.A.R. Labs isn’t exactly quiet about its partnership with C.C.P.D.”

“It keeps our other work out of focus.”

“I’ll see you around, Doctor Stein.”

“Thank you, Lisa.”

“Don’t get used to it. The Rogues aren’t Blacksmith’s biggest fans. Getting her out our way benefits us.”

“And that’s the only reason you called?”

“Until next time, Doctor. Cisco.”

Lisa hung up.

“That’s bad,” Linda said. “That’s really bad. Iris mentioned a power dampener, do you think she knows Caitlin’s Frost?”

There were sparks from the receiver again. They were trying to do too much.

Hartley, Eddie, Joe, and Iris got back at the same time.

“We know who took Caitlin,” Linda said. “Her name is Amunet Black. Lisa called. We don’t know why she took Caitlin, but...”

“And the satellite can’t look for them both,” Cisco said.

“What are you saying?” Iris asked. “We have to pick? No.”

“Iris-”

“You’re asking me to pick between my wife and my best friend? I can’t do that. I can’t. They both need us, I can’t-”

“Iris,” Joe said.

“No, we can’t just- I can’t.”

“Caitlin,” Henry said. “Look for Caitlin first. We don’t know anything about this Blacksmith. She needs help. And even just- If Barry’s hurt, we might need Caitlin.”

“Are you sure?” Hartley asked. Henry nodded and Hartley sat at a computer. “I’ll resume the Speed Force search when we’ve found Caitlin.”

* * *

They got a hit fifteen minutes later. It still felt too late for Cisco. Saint Andrew’s Hospital had been closed ever since the Singularity. He had no idea why Blacksmith would bring Caitlin there.

Caitlin had already got out the building. She had someone with her too.

And a person Cisco was going to assume was Amunet Black had a gauntlet on her hand and metal was flying at Caitlin.

Cisco sent it flying with a vibe blast and Ralph stretched to get Caitlin and the other guy through the breach.

Making sure Caitlin was safe was Cisco’s priority; they could deal with Blacksmith later.

He jumped back into S.T.A.R. Labs. Everyone was already helping Caitlin to her lab, and Iris was holding onto her.

Hartley and Laurel both had their masks on.

And Wally ran back in, with Barry. His suit had inflated, his gloves were missing, and it looked like the only reason he was standing was his arm over Wally’s shoulder.

“Barry!” Eddie rushed over. “Barry, oh my-”

“I’m okay,” Barry croaked. “Thanks for the floatation mode, Sco.”

“I had a feeling that would be useful,” Cisco said. “Your dad and Joe are with Caitlin.”

“What did I miss?”

* * *

Caitlin had given them the full run through. Amunet Black had caught Dominic- an airport worker who’d been on the bus and developed telepathy- and he’d been hurt. She’d taken Caitlin because she needed a doctor.

Joe had taken Caitlin and Dominic to C.C.P.D. Since there was no mention of the Flash, or even Caitlin being a meta, and they were investigating what had happened in Jitters anyway, there was no reason for them not to. Dominic hadn’t been sure about telling them why Amunet Black had taken him, but it was Captain Singh.

Iris had gone with them. The rest of them were heading over to Joe’s for a small gathering now Iris and Caitlin were back, and the holidays were coming up.

From the sounds of it, Iris and Caitlin had had a nice time. Barry darted out the room to take care of something.

And then Cisco had a terrible feeling.

“Cisco?” Hartley whispered.

“Something’s wrong.”

A knock came from the door. Wally sped over.

“Dad, it’s Captain Singh!”

“David,” Joe said. “Come in. Would you like a drink?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Joe,” Captain Singh said. Wally pushed the door shut behind him. “I think you should sit down.”

“Is it Blacksmith?” Laurel asked.

“Barry’s in custody.”

“What?” Eddie asked. “Captain, you can’t be serious.”

“He was just found at yours standing over Clifford DeVoe’s body. We’re getting a team in from Keystone to process the scene, but it’s not looking good.”

“Yeah, but he’s Barry,” Cisco said. “You know it wasn’t him, he’s Barry.”

“What do you suggest, Mister Ramon?”

“Someone must be framing him. Maybe it’s Reverse Flash again. Maybe it’s not the real DeVoe. Barry just went to check something, it wasn’t him.”

“Clifford DeVoe filed a complaint about Barry-”

“Exactly, so why would he go to Eddie and Barry’s home?” Hartley asked.

“-and Barry was found standing over his body, a knife in his chest. I saw it.”

“No,” Henry whispered.

“I’m sorry, Doctor Allen.”

“I know you’re just doing your job, Captain. Barry and Joe speak very highly of you. But he’s my little boy. This can’t be happening again, not to my Barry.”

“I.A. will make sure this is all done by the book. Barry will need alibis for this evening-”

“The f- Sorry,” Lily said. “DeVoe took Barry earlier, the same time Black took Caitlin. He got himself out, and he was in his suit, but that’s why he took Barry, so none of us could give him an alibi. He planned this.”

“He planned his own death?” Iris asked.

“He can’t be dead. He can’t, it wasn’t Barry.”

“Anything we say will out Barry as the Flash,” Laurel said. “And he wouldn’t want that.”

“I’ll do everything I can,” Captain Singh said. “But it’s not going to be much this time. Eddie, you’re not going to be able to go home tonight.”

“You can stay here,” Joe said.

“Barry’s going to need a lawyer,” Cecile said. “I need to speak with him tonight.”

“I’ll give you a lift.”

Cecile nodded and left with Captain Singh. Everyone seemed lost for words.

“I need some air.”

“Cisco-”

“I just need some air, Hart.”

* * *

Cisco ended up breaching back into S.T.A.R. Labs. He sat in his lab. This could not be happening. He had no idea how to get Barry out of this. He couldn’t- They’d literally just got Barry back and DeVoe was taking him away again.

He opened a drawer and took out a small parcel. He’d found it in his lab just after Barry went into the Speed Force, and Cisco knew Barry’s handwriting as well as he knew his own. He’d been too upset to unwrap it then, then too determined to get Barry back. And Barry hadn’t mentioned it, so Cisco had left it wrapped in his drawer.

He fiddled with the ribbon. They’d lost Barry once already.

Cisco stood up, grabbed the box, and opened a breach.

C.C.P.D.'s interrogation room was cold. Barry had his hands cuffed to the table and his head behind them. He looked up when Cisco jumped in, purple bags already clear.

"Vibe," Barry said. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't kill him. That's not a question, that's a statement. I know you wouldn't kill anyone. Is he even dead?"

"I don't know."

"Come on."

"What?"

"You don't belong here."

"I can't."

"Barry-"

"I can't. He threatened Wally."

"What?"

"Please don't tell him yet. Just... I'll be fine. I will. My friends will think of something, they always do. The number of times Cisco's got me out of tight spots."

Barry's eyes flicked over to the camera.

Cisco nodded. He sat opposite Barry with the box between them.

"You should open that," Barry whispered. Cisco untied the ribbon and lifted the lid.

A red mask with yellow lenses sat on a bed of tissue paper. Barry gave him a tiny smile.

"I can't wear these with my goggles," Cisco said.

"I think whoever made that for you thinks you don't need them. You're an incredibly powerful metahuman, focuses help, but you should have more faith in yourself. They clearly believe in you."

The door opened and Detective Addie walked in. She paused when she saw Cisco.

"Detective."

"Vibe. I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be in here."

"I'm just leaving," Cisco said. "Make sure he gets a good lawyer."

"D.A. Horton is already on her way," Detective Addie said. "So's someone from I.A. Got you some water."

"Thanks, Mary," Barry said.

"I sure hope you've got something up your sleeve, Barry."

"Yeah," Barry said. "Me too."


	7. X-Men Three

December was shaping up to be an awful month. Wally wasn’t even sure if they’d bothered investigating anyone that wasn’t Barry or just picked a quick court date to get it over with before Christmas.

At least they’d given him bail. And put him under house arrest. Which was actually with Henry, because Eddie’s apartment might have been cleaned up and released but it was still the place Barry had been arrested. Wally could see why he wasn’t in a hurry to go back. DeVoe had taken his home from him. And Cisco offered to hack the tracking device, but Barry said only for Flash stuff if he was needed.

“Court’s on the 11th,” Wally said when he got home that evening. Laurel was already in, and Lily was half in her lap.

“That’s quick,” Lily said. “Is that quick?”

“Dad said Henry’s trial was quick too,” Wally said.

“They’re considering it an open and shut case,” Laurel said. “Barry was found over the body, his fingerprints were on the murder weapon, and no one’s mentioned anyone else.”

“Barry’s fingerprints were on it because it’s one of his and Eddie’s kitchen knives.”

“And Cecile’s already put in her defence, but if Barry’s not going to defend himself-”

“He’s still refusing to testify?” Lily asked.

“He doesn’t want to lie. He won’t tell everyone he’s the Flash, and he doesn’t want to lie.”

“We have to do something,” Wally said. “There must be something.”

“All I can think is that you solve the murder. And you can’t frame anyone, and you can’t lie.”

“But Marlize DeVoe-”

“Wally, Barry’s refusing to speak because he doesn’t want to lie,” Lily said. “We can’t use a lie to get him out.”

“They’re using a lie to put him in. DeVoe can’t really be dead.”

“Then we have to find a way to prove that,” Laurel said.

“How?” Lily asked. “We have five days. Marlize DeVoe must have insisted on a quick date so we didn’t have any time.”

“We have the weekend,” Laurel said. “And we have two investigative journalists, two detectives, and a P.I.”

* * *

Ralph’s office was messy. He still smiled when Wally walked in.

“Hey, kid,” Ralph said. “Did Joe send you?”

“No,” Wally said. “You’re investigating the murder, right?”

“As much as I can. Like Captain Singh said, the case has to be handled by an external detective who doesn’t know Barry, I.A. has to go through everything, and there can’t be anything they could use as evidence tampering. I’ve been following Marlize DeVoe. She’s doing exceptionally well at playing the part of the grieving widow. He might really be dead.”

“Barry wouldn’t-”

“I didn’t say that, Wally. I know he wouldn’t. What do you know about Reverse Flash and Zoom?”

“Zoom’s dead. We saw. And Reverse Flash doesn’t want Barry in prison, he wants Barry dead. He could do this but I don’t think he would. A.R.G.U.S. has Grodd, it can’t be him. I don’t even know if Grodd knows who Barry is for sure, he has telepathy and Eobard might have told him, but it doesn’t feel like Grodd.”

“Barry told us Marlize DeVoe was working with her husband. Whatever they’re planning, they’re doing it together. I’ll keep looking. There has to be something they missed.”

* * *

There were reporters outside the court. The whole city seemed to have heard what had happened and already made their minds up Barry was guilty. Wally hadn’t been able to watch the news at all for the past few days.

He held Linda’s hand as they sat in the courtroom. His dad and Henry were both sat as close to Barry as possible, with Eddie, Iris, and Caitlin. Wally and Cisco had sat closer to the back. He’d wanted to be close to Barry, but Barry had said that they might need to sneak out to care of a few things. Flash and Vibe things, he meant.

He could see Barry sitting at the front with Cecile next to him, in the suit he always wore for court. Usually he was only there as an expert. But right now, Barry just looked tired.

Marlize DeVoe certainly looked like someone there to find justice for her husband. And her lawyer’s opening speech about how despicable the crime was certainly looked like it had touched a nerve with the jury. Wally just tried not to clench his fists as they pinned it all on Barry. They brought up the complaint, DNA evidence-

And Captain Singh.

“It’s all right, Wally,” Linda whispered.

“Captain, you were called to the scene,” Slater- the DeVoes’ lawyer- said.

“I was,” Captain Singh said. “It was late, we received a call of a disturbance, and knowing the address I wanted to be sure everything was all right.”

“And can you describe what you found?”

“Mister Allen was standing in his front room, and Clifford DeVoe’s body was lying on the floor with a knife in his chest. Allen stepped back and raised his hands, he looked confused.”

“Perhaps that he’d been caught?” Slater asked.

“I would more say confusion that Professor DeVoe was there at all,” Captain Singh said. “Though I wouldn’t like to assume.”

“Would you say you know Mister Allen well, Captain?”

“He’s been my employee for a number of years.”

“But you knew him when he was a child?”

“We’d met briefly.”

“Because his foster father was also in your employment. Why did you hire Mister Allen, Captain?”

“His name was put forward by James Forrest and Angela Margolin when we had a position available in our precinct’s crime lab for a new technician. He had glowing references from his position in Keystone, and he may have been young, and a little inexperienced, but he was talented. And he didn’t talk about stopping criminals in his interview, he told me he wanted to help the victims.”

“Mister Allen’s father was given life for killing his wife.”

“Objection, your honour,” Cecile said. “Henry Allen was cleared of all charges; this is irrelevant to my client’s case.”

“With all due respect, your honour, it is relevant in establishing why Mister Allen chose to go into police work,” Slater said. “I’m not calling into question the verdict of this court, simply trying to establish how the son of an at the time convicted murderer was able to gain employment in the criminal justice system, and if that is related to this turn of events.”

“But you’ve already established my client’s foster father is a detective himself, and his mother was the victim of a violent crime he witnessed.”

“And perhaps witnessing such a crime influenced his actions now.”

“Enough,” the judge said. “Mrs Allen’s case is closed, and not what we are here to discuss. Do you have any other questions, Mister Slater?”

“Yes, Your Honour. Mister Allen was recently reported missing for six months before he reappeared in Ivy City claiming to have no memory of the events.”

“That is true,” Captain Singh said.

“Has he had any other lapses in memory?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Would it be to your knowledge?”

“I would hope he felt comfortable enough to come to me with any issues he may have, and he has been in the past.”

“Has Mister Allen ever been reprimanded for his frequent lateness?”

“His time management has improved significantly in the last four years, and he always completes his work to the highest quality, staying late to complete work as soon as he can, I think that demonstrates his dedication. Mister Allen’s inability to be on time may be a running joke around the precinct, and among his friends, but it’s not nearly as common an occurrence as everyone jokes.”

“No further questions, Your Honour,” Slater said.

Cisco’s phone pinged.

“I think we’re needed downtown,” Cisco whispered. “Wally?”

“What’s going on?”

“Something weird.”

“I’ll keep an eye on everything here for you,” Linda said. Wally nodded.

* * *

Cisco had breached them to S.T.A.R. Labs, but he’d driven back into town to a bank.

A few officers were already there. Wally recognised a few.

Detective Addie was the one who came to meet them though, right as Captain Singh arrived.

“Addie?”

“Everyone just collapsed, sir,” Addie said. “There’s nothing missing, no threats, paramedics are treating everyone but don’t think there’s any permanent injury, but there’s no clear cause. There’s no gas leak, and it’s all in this bank.”

“Found you a cause,” Cisco said. “I’m picking up enough dark matter to suggest meta activity.”

“Have you pulled the security cameras?” Captain Singh asked.

“They’re all fried,” Addie said.

“Can you list me symptoms?” Cisco asked. “They passed out, was there anything else?”

“Abdominal pains, vomiting, fatigue, I saw some what looked like burns?”

“Okay,” Cisco said. “Wally, can you get me the Geiger Counter out the back of the van?”

Wally nodded and popped back to grab it. He used a tiny bit of his speed to get back to Cisco. Not enough anyone would notice.

Cisco looked at it and nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m picking up higher than average levels of radiation.”

“Radiation?” Captain Singh asked.

“Not enough to be harmful now, and it’s falling, but I would assume something highly radioactive has been in here recently. Wally and I can search the city for abnormally high radiation levels and let you know what we find.”

“I’ll go see if I can get a description of the metahuman,” Addie said. “Sir.” She nodded at Captain Singh and left quickly.

“Wally, before you go,” Captain Singh said.

“I get it,” Wally said. “They called you to speak, you had to tell them the truth, same as Barry. It’s just not fair.”

“I know.”

* * *

Linda met them back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Cisco had already set up the satellite.

“They offered Barry an insanity plea, and he turned that down.”

“Because he didn’t do it,” Wally said.

“But that’s why he was asking Captain Singh those questions,” Cisco said. “Struck from the record or not, everyone on that jury heard about Nora Allen, and people know about that. Memory issues and trauma related mental health issues? He wants to make them think Barry could have done it because of his own problems and then forgotten.”

“But-”

“I didn’t say that it was right, or fair. Just that it would have convinced them if Barry had then accepted their deal. Maybe he even hoped Barry would doubt himself.”

“Hartley and Lily are helping Ralph,” Linda said. “Laurel’s helping Cecile. If there is anything they can find, anything, they’ll find it. We have to find this metahuman.”

* * *

The only noticeable spike they found was a nuclear waste tanker.

“I have questions,” Linda said when Cisco breached them back to S.T.A.R. Labs. “Why is that allowed in the city?”

“It’s in the outskirts from the power station,” Cisco said.

“But it’s giving off radiation levels that high-”

“Oh, there is definitely a problem and I’ve already let C.C.P.D. know I’ve picked up a spike so at least they can get the power station to deal with their transport.”

“That was the only lead we had,” Wally said. “How is-”

“Ralph caught Marlize DeVoe with Dominic Lanse, but she had an excuse for that.”

“That guy Amunet Black kidnapped?” Cisco asked.

“She said she met him at an event for ALS and her husband encouraged them to start a relationship to make up for the aspects he could no longer do.”

“Do you think that’s why Blacksmith went after Caitlin?” Wally asked. “Do you think he was in on it? What if he killed DeVoe, and-”

“We’ve got another reading,” Cisco said. “Wally, get your suit. Prentice and Rawlins, now.”

“It says three thousand rads,” Linda said. “How bad is that?”

“Very,” Cisco said. He already had his phone out. “Captain, you need to get everyone clear of Prentice and Rawlins, now.”

“Cisco, what happens if it keeps climbing?” Linda asked.

“Big bang,” Cisco said. “No, Captain, it’s not safe. I don’t think it’s safe for anyone.”

“I have speed healing,” Wally said.

“Wally-”

“I can do this, Linda. Trust me.”

“I do. Just come back?”

“I promise.”

Wally shot off.

A man was standing in the middle of the street, almost glowing. It was so hot.

“Flash,” he said. The driver from earlier. That’s why the spike had been there, that’s why he’d developed these powers. “Flash, what’s happening?”

“You need to calm down,” Wally said.

“I didn’t mean to, I don’t-”

“It’s all right,” Wally said. “I know. I want to help. But I need you to stay right there. Vibe?”

“He’s at seven thousand rads,” Cisco said. “You can’t get any closer.”

“Then what do I do?”

“You create a vacuum,” Barry said, suddenly at Wally’s side. Lightning was sparking around them. “If we create a vacuum, it’ll contain the radiation, then we get Cisco to open a breach.”

“To where? We can’t just send radiation somewhere. What are you doing here?”

“You needed me. We need to hurry, Wally.”

Wally nodded and the two of them took off, circling the driver.

“Vibe!” Barry shouted. “Can you open a breach above us to space or something?”

“I can open one to Earth-18,” Cisco said. “It’s the one that was next to Cynthia’s, there’s nothing there anymore.”

Wally kept running. He could feel his face burning.

And then there was a breach above them. Linda shouted it was clear and Wally just let himself drop. He was so tired. And he could feel holes in his suit.

“I’ve got you,” Barry said.

“You sure?” Wally asked. “Because you look like your face has been on fire.”

“Kind of feel like that too, actually. Want to go pass out?”

“You have to get back to court.”

People were applauding. The driver included.

“I’ll get you back to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Cisco said. “You both need checking over before you rush back, Barry.”

“Right,” Barry said. “I’m feeling more awake already.”

“Sure, you are.”

“We’ll take it from here, Flash,” Captain Singh said. Barry nodded and helped Wally back through Cisco’s breach.

“Wally!” Linda threw her arms around him. “Don’t do that again.”

“I’ll do my best,” Wally said. “Barry-”

“Does my face look like a face again?”

“Just let me run some tests,” Caitlin said. “Especially on you, Cisco, you don’t have healing powers.”

“I’ll be fine,” Cisco said. “Barry and Wally first.”

“How are you here?” Wally asked.

“I don’t need to be present for closing statements, and Cisco and Linda said you might need me,” Barry said. “I have to go back in a minute. I doubt a jury’s going to take long to convict me.”

“Then tell them.”

“I can’t, Wally.”

“You can. We just got you back. Don’t make us lose you again. I spent months watching you vanish in my nightmares, then I had to watch a version of you be erased from time, then I watched you walk into the Speed Force, tell them. They won’t convict the Flash.”

“I can’t. Thawne knew, he killed my mom. Zoloman knew, he took you and Caitlin, and tried to kill my dad. Cobalt knew, he threatened Iris. Snart’s kidnapped Caitlin, Cisco, Lily, and Dante. I can’t, Wally.”

“What if I do? I’ll say DeVoe kidnapped you because you’re my brother and I’m the Flash, then I’ll take Jax up on his offer to join the Legends.”

“You’ll leave Linda?” Barry asked. Wally gulped. “I just talked Iris out of this, remind me later to work out how I managed to speed her up with me. But, Wally, listen to me. I have to do what he wants.”

“Why? He’s dead.”

“Not exactly. I had a conversation with him earlier. You know Blacksmith was planning on selling Dominic? I guess she caught him again after they left C.C.P.D. and found her buyer.”

“What?”

“He’s inside Dominic Lanse?” Cisco asked. “Like at the end of X-Men Three?”

“Then tell them that,” Wally said. “Why are you just giving up? Protecting your secret is not worth losing you again.”

“Wally,” Linda said. She put a hand on his shoulder. “Barry’s not protecting himself.”

“But we’re heroes too, he-”

“He needs the Flash,” Barry said. “I’m not the only one.”

"Stop saving me. I don't need you to keep sacrificing yourself to save me."

"You're-"

"You're my brother too! Let me save you!"

"You have. So many times. And you will. You'll keep the city safe, find out his plan, and expose him. I'm saving you, and I need you to save me."

"They're going to send you to prison, Barry."

"And you're going to get me out. Caitlin, am I-”

“You’re clear to go,” Caitlin said. Barry nodded.

“I have to get back to court. I love all of you.”

Barry ran off.

“Good timing,” Linda said. “Court’s just reconvened.”

No one spoke. For all Wally knew, it could have taken them an hour. He’d never been so frustrated by his powers.

“Life without parole,” Linda said.

Wally’s heart dropped out the bottom of his chest.


	8. Visitation

Barry had spent fifteen years looking at his father through a pane of glass. He thought he’d never have to again.

He’d been on the other side then though.

“Hey, Slugger.”

“Hey, Dad.”

“I can’t believe this is happening again. My little boy.”

“I’m okay, Dad.” Barry lifted his hand up to the glass so his dad could rest his on the other side. They’d done this back then too. “I’m okay. Promise. They gave me your old cell, so that’s something?”

“You shouldn’t be in there at all. You worked for C.C.P.D., people aren’t going to like that, and with your hypoglycaemia-”

“Dad. I’ll be okay.”

“You keep your head down and stay out of trouble, you hear me?”

“I promise. I love you.”

“I love you too, kiddo.”

* * *

“Captain Singh wanted to present the Flash with a medal of valour,” Joe said. “Both of them, for saving the city from Fallout.”

“Fallout?”

“That’s what Cisco’s calling him. His real name is Neil Borman. S.T.A.R. Labs are trying to find a way for him to control his powers.”

“Having powers you can’t just turn off must be difficult,” Barry said. He looked up at Joe’s concerned face. Oh right. Everyone knew time was always weird for him and fast was his default setting and that meant his metabolism was always fast. “What about you though? How’s C.C.P.D.?”

“Difficult. You’ve still got some people in your corner. The others, well. It’ll pass. We’ll find a way to get you out of here soon. How many people-”

“I promised Dad I’d keep my head down,” Barry said. “I’m fine, Joe. I’ll be fine.”

* * *

“I really miss you.”

“Ed, it’s been three days,” Barry said.

“I know,” Eddie said. “I still miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“I thought you’d want to see Henry and Joe first. And I know you told them both you were fine, but I don’t think I believe you.”

“I am. Really. I miss you, but I’m fine.”

“My grandmother called earlier. Thaddeus told her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I was supposed to keep you company at Christmas.”

“It’s fine. I’m not going.”

“Eddie-”

“I’m not going to spend Christmas Day sitting in a room where half the people are feeling sorry for poor, naive Eddie who got tricked by a murderer, and the other half are feeling justified this wouldn’t have happened if I’d fallen in love with a woman instead. I’m half tempted to throw Eobard in their faces and never talk to any of them again. Grandma says if I’m sure there must be a reason, but...”

“I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Joe invited me for West Family Christmas, I’m sure it’ll be better.”

“Maybe next year.”

“Maybe. McSnurtle’s still hibernating. She’s okay though.”

“Good.”

* * *

“So, how many fights have you been in so far?” Iris asked. A guard stepped closer.

“None,” Barry said. “I’ve been keeping my head down like Dad said, trying not to get noticed. Iris, I worked on so many crime scenes.”

“I know. I also know you can take care of yourself, but you’re lying about being fine.”

“Iris-”

“Barry. You have never been able to lie to me. I know why you said it, I won’t tell them you’re not, but Bare, I also know of any way someone could have chosen to frame you, they picked a body in the living room with a knife with your fingerprints on it. That is hurting you, and I really wish I could hug you, and I know you need to talk to someone, and I know it should probably be Doctor Finkel, but right now you can talk to me. About all of it.”

“I’m okay. Really.”

“All right. Tell me when you change your mind?”

“Yeah. How’s work? How’s Caitlin?”

* * *

The past week had probably been the longest of Barry’s life. He was hungry, and tired, and kept dodging people he knew really wouldn’t like to see him, but at least he had one visitor a day.

Also, Bellows didn’t seem too upset with him about the whole exposing his corruption thing (then again, he’d only been explicitly involved as the Flash, and it had just occurred to Barry that maybe Bellows offering Barry a lift knowing Joe and Eddie were investigating wasn’t quite the nice offer Barry had assumed), so he’d been allowed to join poker for pudding cups. He was good at poker. Actually, he was good at using his speed to cheat at poker, but pudding was worth it, especially when he was this hungry.

He would have to stash these puddings somewhere before his daily visitor though. He was never quite sure who to expect.

It wasn’t Captain Singh though.

Still, he was sitting there when Barry sat down.

“Sir,” Barry said. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“I’m sorry, Barry.”

“For what? Court? You told the truth, you found me standing over a body. You also told them I was good at my job. Thank you. And you didn’t...”

“You could have.”

“He threatened Wally. I couldn’t.”

“Your friends are still looking.”

“I know. If there is anything, they’ll find it. I believe in them.”

* * *

“Do you need me to send you calorie bars?” Cisco asked. “I could totally send you calorie bars.”

“I’ll be all right, Cisco. It’s not like I’m doing a lot of running in here.”

“Right. I like the scruff, very Ivy City Barry.”

“I had a beard?”

“You had scruff. Six months and you grew scuff. Joe shaved you.”

“Oh. How good are you at poker? I think I need some tips.”

* * *

Barry wondered if they'd told Kara yet. The Legends presumably didn't know, either Sara would have visited on their behalf or they would have attempted an elaborate prison break. It was kind of all or nothing with them.

But Central City didn't need him. She had Wally, and Cisco, and Hartley, and Caitlin. Even Ralph. She hadn't needed Barry for a long time.

* * *

“Well, Happy Hanukkah, I guess,” Lily said. “Everyone sends their best. They didn’t let me bring you any of Mom’s latkes.”

“Aww, man,” Barry said. “You’re still...”

“Just us three. Ray actually went to see his mother, finally. Dad’s talking about sticking around.”

“What about Jax?”

“They’ll figure something out.”

“And Dad, he...”

“Didn’t really feel up to it. Mom’s been sending me over with cooking though. Hannah’s with your Aunt Ruth, she said.”

“That’s good. I should probably call her.”

“Probably.”

“How’s things with Laurel?”

“Yeah. She’s really great. But there’s been so much happening-”

“Lily. You deserve to be happy. Both of you. Be happy first. Enjoy yourselves. Then figure the rest out.”

* * *

“It’s busy today.”

“It’s Christmas Eve, Dad,” Barry said. “I guess everyone here’s getting their visits out the way today. There might be a lot tomorrow. Are you going to Joe’s?”

“I’m at the clinic tomorrow, for any emergencies. So everyone else can have their holiday off.”

“That’s good. But Lily said you didn’t go to Clarissa’s either.”

“No. You look tired.”

“I am a little. I’ll be fine. Has the clinic been busy?”

* * *

“You’re not having a New Year’s?” Barry asked.

“No one really felt like it,” Iris said. “Last time you weren’t there, you were in a coma. Maybe we’ll have something small, but you know no one really feels like celebrating with you in here.”

“You should. It’s your first year as a married woman. You should celebrate. Watch a Star Trek film for me. The one with the whales.”

“I’ll suggest it.”

* * *

“Do you remember that second West New Year’s I went to?” Eddie asked. “The first year I knew you were the Flash? Linda kissed your cheek and you turned bright red.”

“That’s because Cisco was trying to get me next to you at midnight hoping you’d kiss me,” Barry said. Eddie laughed. He’d missed that.

“I wish I’d asked you out a lot sooner.”

“I distinctly remember me being the one to ask you out?”

“I remember you kissing me then apologising for not asking first and not doing it sooner. You could have done. I would have said yes.”

“Well, I would have said yes if you’d asked me. But we got there. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Take care.”

“You too. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

"Hannah?"

"Barry." She looked angry.

"I guess winter break’s over. How's uni?"

"Fine."

"Concentration ok?"

"It's fine. How are you?"

"I'm okay."

"Good." She took the phone away from her ear.

"Hannah, wait, please."

"I only came because Ma told me to see how you are. You said you're fine; I can go."

"You think I did it?"

"My friend was in Professor DeVoe's class. She said he was a nice man. And you've been lying to me for months. Years maybe. Pied Piper showed up at mine with people when Zoom was attacking saying you'd asked him to check on me and then Uncle Henry was in the hospital needing heart surgery and no one told me exactly what was wrong, you disappeared for months and everyone just assumed you were dead but you showed up again right as rain, and now you've been arrested for murder and you wouldn't even defend yourself and I still don't understand why that guy would kill Aunt Nora then pretend to be Harrison Wells then look after you were in a coma and why the Flash showing up suddenly changed Ma's mind and you're lying to me, Barry. Why should I believe you?”

"You're right. I should have explained. But I can't here."

"Why not?"

"It’s complicated. You're still friends with Jerrie Rathaway, aren't you?"

"Yes. She's nice."

"You can either ask Joe, or Lily, or ask Jerrie to introduce you to Hartley. Tell them it's okay, I said you should know. But I promise you, I didn't hurt anyone."

"You're only doing this because everyone thinks you did."

"I made a mistake. Let me fix it?"

“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

Barry had to stay out of fights. If he ended up hurt, someone would notice his healing. But this bruise seemed to be lasting longer than normal. And it was on his cheek, he couldn’t exactly hide it.

“Barry,” Joe said.

“It’s nothing. I just wasn’t quick enough this time.”

“If you think you’re in danger-”

“I’m fine, Joe. It’s just a bruise, it’ll clear up by itself soon enough. How’s Cecile?”

* * *

January was cold, and normally Barry ran hot enough he’d be all right, even with the cold slowing him down, but it seemed to be getting to him more and more. He’d stopped cheating at poker. The pudding cups weren’t worth it. He might be hungry, but if he was slowing down, he couldn’t let anyone catch him running.

But that little time he spent outside, that little time he wasn’t trapped...

Patience wasn’t a natural skill of a speedster. Barry had learnt that right at the start. He’d also learnt boredom was as much of a weakness as cold. His brain went as fast as his feet, which meant sitting doing nothing dragged on and on and on.

Prison had a lot of moments filled with nothing.

Being trapped was also not great. Barry had to stay. He had to wait for his family to get him out of here the right way. But that didn’t stop the Speed Force singing out for him to just phase through the wall and run. Being outside he was still surrounded by fences, he wasn’t free, but it was a slight relief. The Speed Force still called for him, but he couldn’t leave his family again.

Not knowing what was going on outside wasn’t helping.

* * *

He recognised the lady sitting opposite him. He’d seen this before.

Barry picked up the phone.

“Hi, Zari.”

“Hi,” Zari said. “How are you?”

“Good? Are you in town for long?”

“Just long enough for Jax to visit Martin. Lily said she told you he retired.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re working on it. Can I run something past you? I think I’ve hit a brick wall with that novel, and I thought you might have an idea?” Zari’s eyes flicked to one of the guards and Barry was pretty sure he got the message.

“I’m all ears.”

“You know my future hacker, Nasreen, she joined the time travellers to save her brother. She gives the A.I. a task to try and find a loophole, and the ship explodes and throws her into a time loop. But then it turns out the time loop was the A.I. running the simulation while she was recovering in the med bay from a minor ship malfunction, because there isn’t a clear way to save her brother, but the one thing the A.I. does know is that the best starting point is to find her place with the time travellers.”

“Sounds like the A.I.’s inventor might need to have a word.”

“The engineer comes too, and they do plenty of comedy runs with the historian, it works out in the end. I’m just not sure where to take it next.”

“I think you already answered your question. She joins the time travellers. They might be a ragtag bunch, but they’re a family. They’ll help her in any way they can. It’s difficult, it’ll change her past which then can cause a paradox, but they’ll help her. Same as any of us will help you.”

“Thank you. My friend was right about you. If I see her again, I’ll let her know.”

“Good luck with your story, Zari. Any of us will help if you ask.”

“You’ll get out of this. I know you will.”

* * *

“Yeah, Lily’s been happy with both her parents around I guess,” Wally said. “She’s been staying at ours more, but I’ve been staying at Linda’s sometimes, so it balances out.”

“How are things going with Linda?” Barry asked.

“Good,” Wally said. “I also figured out what you’re doing. You keep asking everyone else questions, so they don’t ask you how you are.”

“I keep saying I’m fine.”

“Barry, it’s me.”

“I’m as fine as can be expected. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Yeah, I do. Ralph’s still working on it. I thought you’d be home by now. It’s almost been three months.”

“It took fifteen years to get my dad out of prison. I wasn’t expecting it to be a matter of weeks.”

“I really hope it doesn’t take us fifteen years.”

“Me too.”

* * *

It was still cold. Barry kept shivering, and he’d already noticed the lack of lightning.

“Barry Allen!”

Axel Walker seemed happy when he walked over while they were both outside. That was weird.

“Hi, Axel,” Barry said.

"I kidnapped your dad with my dad once."

"I remember."

"And I crashed your friend's wedding."

"I remember that too."

"She knows loads of superheroes. You must know the Flash!"

"No," Barry said. "Never met him. Or, well, I guess I've seen him around, but never to talk to. Iris just has a friend who has a friend, and she writes about all this, so, you know. How come you're still in here?"

"Oh, they'll come and get me," Axel said. "Definitely. Miss Lisa said if both the Flashes, Piper, Vibe, and Frost work together, then we should too."

"Just until you kill them, I guess."

"We don't kill people."

"But Mark Mardon broke your dad out before specifically to kill the Flash."

"But then the Flash stopped a detective shooting him, so he said they're even now, and Miss Lisa's right, it's way more fun to cause chaos and steal stuff if there's someone trying to stop you. And killing people makes the heroes mad and then they don't want to play anymore."

"I guess that makes sense."

"She even talked Rosa out of going after Vibe. Vibe's her nemesis, I want a nemesis."

"I'm sure the Flash can count you as his nemesis if you ask him."

"But the Flash fights all of the Rogues."

"Don't all of them? You even fought Supergirl."

"That was fun. But it's not special like a nemesis. You know, you have that professor dude. Or had."

"I didn't kill him. And I don't really know if I'd call him my nemesis, he's just causing problems this year."

"Allen!" a guard called.

"I should go," Barry said. "Good luck nemesis hunting, Axel."

Barry stepped away and to the guard.

"You've got a visitor."

Barry nodded and followed him.


	9. Weeper

Barry smiled when he sat down, like he had been doing every time, but Iris had known him since she was four years old. She noticed the way it didn’t quite reach his eyes like it used to, how thick the scruff on his chin was getting, and the shadows under his eyes. She had a feeling if Barry shaved the scruff, he’d reveal gaunt cheeks. Maybe that was why he’d been neglecting to shave. Maybe it was so less people recognised him. Maybe they just still hadn’t let him have a razor.

“Hey,” he said in that falsely bright voice Iris remembered from when they were children, when he’d been struggling but hadn’t wanted to worry anyone else. “How are you?”

“Good,” Iris said. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Barry said. Iris raised an eyebrow. “A little bored, but I’m fine. I just had this weird conversation with Axel Walker.”

“You did what?”

“He came to talk to me. Apparently, Lisa Snart convinced all the Rogues not to kill people, and Axel wants his own nemesis.”

“It’s not the Flash?”

“The Flash fights all of them, but he said Rosa Dillion considers Vibe her nemesis, and he wants something like that.”

“Huh. You’re all right?”

“Yeah, I think he wanted to be friends? Opening with ‘you remember that time I kidnapped your dad with my dad and crashed your friends’ wedding’ wasn’t a great start, and he did almost kill my dad that time and poison you, but he seemed to just want someone to talk to.”

“And you?”

“I have you. Joe said there were scans now?”

Deflecting again. But Iris pulled out the slip of paper her dad had sent her with and held it up to the glass. Barry traced the outline with a finger.

“They’re getting big,” he said.

“Due date is the end of May,” Iris said. “Dad and Cecile are thinking about names.”

“How many names?”

* * *

Scott nodded when Iris arrived back from her lunch break slightly late. He knew about Barry. Iris hadn’t asked him what his thoughts were, and they hadn’t spoken about it, but he knew Barry was her friend and occasionally she’d spend her lunch at Iron Heights now. Most people seemed to be avoiding mentioning Barry’s name around Iris. She had a feeling that was because they thought he was guilty. Her dad and Eddie had mentioned something similar happening at C.C.P.D. And Henry refused to talk about it at all, but Iris had noticed he was spending fewer hours at the clinic recently. She was fairly sure the only person he spoke to some days was Eddie, and that was only because Eddie was staying there for now. He’d mentioned getting a new place, but not till Barry was released.

Iris wasn’t sure how long he’d be waiting. Ralph hadn’t been getting anywhere with his investigation.

“How’s Barry?” Linda whispered when Iris sat down.

“Deflecting,” Iris said. “He keeps insisting he’s fine then changing the subject again.”

“He’ll be okay. Got you something.” Linda put a tiny vial down on Iris’ desk. “Got it off my next-door neighbour’s son last night, he got handed it at a night club. Apparently, everyone there was taking it, they’re calling it Weeper. My guess is they’re handing it out for free now, then when a sizable amount of Central’s youths is hooked, they’ll start hiking the price.”

“And your neighbour’s son just gave you this?”

“He was designated driver, so he didn’t take it, and I guess he didn’t like what he saw when everyone else did. Seemed like something that needs following up.”

“Right now?”

“Maybe taking a step back will let you look at this DeVoe thing with fresh eyes later. Either way, do you really want this stuff on the streets?”

“We could see if S.T.A.R. Labs could run some tests later.”

* * *

Iris went over to S.T.A.R. Labs as soon as her shift finished. Apparently, Wally was taking Linda on a date, and Laurel and Lily were out too.

“Did Linda’s neighbour say what this does?” Caitlin asked.

“No,” Iris said. “Just that they call it Weeper.”

“I can run a sample through a mass spectrometer and see if NMR analysis can at least tell us what it’s made of. Finding out exactly what it does would help too, and maybe I can ask Lily to help analyse it.”

“I’ll see if I can find out where it came from.”

* * *

There were no reports of a new drug Iris could find. Neither Central City General nor Central City Memorial Hospitals had had anyone admitted having taken anything called Weeper. Not that it was an easy question for them to answer, with patient confidentiality, but it wasn’t something any of the doctors Iris spoke to had heard of. And C.C.P.D. hadn’t had any arrests in connection with it. Captain Singh hadn’t heard of it.

She’d have to wait till late afternoon to try the clubs, probably. There might be people working there who were there earlier and might have heard of something, but chances were, she wouldn’t get a proper lead until the evening.

“Iris, you’ve got a visitor,” Scott said. A young lad walked in.

“Um,” he said. “I’m Ethan. Linda said you might want to talk to me?”

“Yes,” Iris said. “That would be great. Thanks, Scott.”

Scott nodded and Ethan sat in the chair next to Iris’ desk. He seemed nervous.

“You’re not in trouble,” Iris said. “I won’t even tell anyone who gave me the tip if you don’t want. And you didn’t take it, which is good. I just need to know what it does. If we know what it does, it might help us work out what it’s made of.”

“It was weird,” Ethan said. “They said it was love, and everyone did seem, I don’t know. Emotional? Not big on personal space? Kind of drunk, I guess.”

“Do you remember who gave it to you?”

“There were these men by the entrance into the club, I thought they were bouncers, but they were handing it out to everyone who came in.”

“Which club?”

“Um, you know Midnight?”

“Do you know what the men looked like?”

“Tall, broad, white, brown-hair, both of them were dressed in black. I saw one of them talking to a guy, I guess their boss, when we left though. Didn’t hear what he said, I was trying to get my friends home, but it looked like he had a snake or something with him? I didn’t see properly though, and I didn’t want to get a closer look and get into trouble.”

“You’ve been a really big help. I’ll see what I can find.”

* * *

Axel Walker had escaped Iron Heights somehow. Linda was already on it. But it did mean everyone was busy when Iris dropped into S.T.A.R. Labs at lunch.

Ralph had a burn all up his arm.

“I thought I was indestructible!”

“No, Alex said your cells are polymerised,” Lily said. “You’re stretchy and you can counter large amounts of force.”

“I’m bullet proof though.”

“Yes, but bullets and acid work a little differently, Ralph.”

“Well, how strong is this acid? Like 18 acid-ness?”

“That’s not how it works? pH is the negative log of the concentration of hydrogen ions, it goes from 1 to 14, anything lower than 7 is acidic, and higher than 7 is alkaline.”

“Lily,” Caitlin said.

“What, Barry’s not here to go on about how chemistry doesn’t work that way, I’m doing it for him.”

“I’ll assume I should come back later,” Iris said. “Why does Ralph have acid burns?”

“Axel Walker,” Caitlin said. Iris nodded.

“Linda’s at C.C.P.D. seeing what she can find out,” Iris said. “Barry told me yesterday that Axel was talking to him, he said something about a nemesis? Something about the Flash fighting everyone so he didn’t count, but Vibe is Rosa’s nemesis and he wanted his own.”

“I have a nemesis?” Cisco asked. “Awesome, how come I am the last one to find out about this?”

“Do you want another nemesis?” Ralph asked. “Why can’t Wally be his nemesis?”

“Because I’m the Flash,” Wally said. “Barry and I both count. They said so when they were arguing with Eobard about why they should get to fight us, not him.”

“Are our villains weird?” Cisco asked.

“As long as they’re not trying to kill us constantly, like Oliver’s, I don’t care how weird they are,” Hartley said. He handed Caitlin a test tube. “I think it’s highly concentrated sulphuric acid potentially with some hydrochloric, maybe some hydrogen peroxide, possibly with something else. I suspect even Wally would scar from this, and you will need eye protection.”

“I thought you have super healing?” Ralph asked.

“Yes,” Wally said. He rolled up his trousers and showed Ralph a large scar. “That’s from where Samaroid stabbed me.”

“Am I going to scar?” Ralph asked. He looked at his arm. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“I don’t know how your healing factor works yet,” Caitlin said. “It’s possible. Painkillers work on you, even if I can’t inject them.”

“I’m going to add eye protection to your mask and Wally’s cowl,” Lily said. “Why did we not think of this before, Cisco?”

“I don’t know,” Cisco said. “Barry put yellow lenses in that red mask he made me, I’ll wear that, they’re probably on par with safety glasses, they are his most common type of glasses.”

“Hartley has lenses in his mask,” Ralph said.

“Mine are so I can see, and Cisco made them do speech to text so I can have subtitles,” Hartley said. “They weren’t designed with protection in mind.”

“But they should have some,” Cisco said. “Caitlin, where’s that mask Barry made you?”

“The blue one?” Caitlin asked. “That has clear lenses in.”

“He didn’t put lenses in Oliver’s mask,” Iris said.

“No, but that was before he learnt what it’s like to get dust in your eye when you’re running at the speed of sound,” Wally said. “What about Laurel’s mask, Barry made that. I know he’s got some spare lenses in his drawer, he made Jesse a new mask last week, she had a run in with a slime monster or something and she really needed some eye protection for that one. There’s probably a spare mask Ralph could use already.”

“I’ll have a look,” Cisco said. “And then we have to find Axel Walker.”

“I should get back to work,” Iris said. “I’ll come back later.”

“Oh, your thing,” Caitlin said.

“Don’t worry, you’re busy. We can deal with this later.”

* * *

A Tuesday night wasn’t exactly a common night for going out, but there were a few staff members in a handful of bars Iris passed on her way to S.T.A.R. Labs.

“We’ve been warned about something by a few people,” one of the bartenders said. “Just some shady looking people handing something out to the less reputable clubs downtown. I don’t know more than that though.”

“I was told about someone with a snake, possibly. You haven’t heard anything about that?”

“No, sorry,” she said. “I can try asking a few people, but I haven’t even worked here that long, it’s just something to do because photography doesn’t pay very well.”

“If I leave you my card, can you give me a call if you do hear anything?” Iris asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“Thanks, Kamilla.”

Iris left her card and turned to leave again. She almost bumped into a young woman.

“I’m so sorry,” Iris said.

“No, it was my fault,” she said. “You’re Iris West-Snow, aren’t you?”

“Have we met?”

“Briefly, but you wouldn’t remember. I’ve read all your articles though. They’re really good.”

“Thank you.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about something called Weeper?”

“No, sorry. But if anyone can figure it out, it’s you.”

A noise came from behind Iris and she turned her head to look.

When she turned back the woman was gone.

* * *

Everyone seemed tired when Iris got to S.T.A.R. Labs. Her dad and Eddie weren’t there.

“I guess Elongated Man is better than Stretchy Man,” Ralph said. “Why do I get the one who throws acid as a nemesis?”

“Because you volunteered,” Wally said. “What do we do with a block of frozen sulphuric acid?”

“I missed something,” Iris said.

“Hi, honey,” Caitlin said. “Axel’s mother broke him out of prison, she used to work with James Jesse years ago, she left Central twenty-one years ago.”

“When Axel was born,” Iris said. “Linda said earlier Vibe and Pied Piper were in a bit of a bother?”

“He was going to drop acid on us, and Ralph came to save us then agreed to be Axel’s nemesis,” Cisco said. “And Caitlin and Wally handled the acid. Could have just dropped sodium hydroxide in it.”

“Where would we get that much sodium hydroxide?” Caitlin said. “And on such short notice?”

“No idea. Anyway, we now have a large block of frozen sulphuric acid downstairs, Ralph has a nemesis, and his name is Elongated Man.”

“And his mask is purple because…”

“It was a spare one in Barry’s drawer that had lenses,” Wally said. “And now we all have eye protection.”

“Why are yours almost white?”

“Only from the outside, I can see out them fine. I thought they’d look cool. Also Barry only had a couple of clear ones.”

“I quite like the purple,” Ralph said.

“I think it’s late,” Lily said. “And I’m going to find Laurel. Coming, Wally?”

“Sure, I’ll give you a lift.”

“Please don’t.”

The two of them disappeared, closely followed by Cisco and Hartley after they said their goodbyes.

“I went to see Barry earlier,” Caitlin said. “I got distracted by Axel Walker, but I asked him if he had any ideas on the test results because there were a lot. It’s picked up at least five different chemicals, and Barry said if he had to give one I had a spectra for a name, he’d probably call it dihydroxyphenethylamine.”

“Is that significant?”

“It’s dopamine. Only a small trace, but I think the other two might be oxytocin and vasopressin? They’re hormones, and love makes sense, because they are mentioned if you look at the neurochemistry of love. And dopamine is also linked to addiction.”

“So, it’s a cocktail of hormones?”

“There are traces, but there was more salt than any of them, just normal sodium chloride, and almost all of it was water.”

“What?”

“It wouldn’t be hard to come by those hormones, dopamine especially is already used in some medication, but I didn’t understand the saltwater. It dehydrates you, encouraging you to drink more, but in such small amounts, and with alcohol already having that effect? Even with dopamine’s effects on the kidneys when in excess I doubt it would have much use. And if it was just as something to add the hormones to, why use saltwater, why not just tap water? Because it isn’t tap water, there’s no traces of fluorides or any impurities that would be found in tap water.”

“Is it harmful?”

“Potentially in large amounts. I’d have to find out exact concentrations to know how much that would be.”

“I smell a mystery,” Ralph said. His nose twitched.

“That’s a little weird, Ralph,” Caitlin said.

“I can’t help it, my nose just does it.”

“I might have another lead, but not until Friday night,” Iris said. “Anyone want to go to a club?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? Time for some sources.  
> https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/acids.html (because in the episode they claim an acid of -50 pH and I just couldn't bring myself to write that)  
> http://chemguide.co.uk/analysismenu.html#top (chemguide is great, it's written for A-Level Chemistry revision which is was fantastic for, but it's also good as a general resource)  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_basis_of_love  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasopressin  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine  
> https://www.facebook.com/theactionlabofficial/videos/1040436912979932/?sfnsn=scwspmo&extid=1fLFLAAuqCncmwuk&d=n&vh=e (I cannot believe I am putting a facebook video on this list, but it popped up when I was writing the chapter and is about mixing sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide and seemed relevant, even if it should probably be taken with a pinch of salt as a source)


	10. A Little Problem Solving

Barry looked tired. He had a black eye, his cheeks looked sallow, and he looked like he was about to drop.

“Hi, Laurel,” he said. “How are things going with Lily? When she was here the other week-”

“You’re not well,” Laurel said.

“I’m fine.”

“Really.”

“I’m just tired and I walked into the wrong guy yesterday and got punched in the face for it, I’m fine.”

“Yesterday?”

“I’ll be fine, Laurel. Really. Actually, I need to ask you a favour. I, um, this guy helped me out yesterday, turns out he’s been keeping an eye on me the whole time, you know, make sure I don’t get in too many fights because I did keep my head down like Dad said to, I swear, but you know. I’m still a C.S.I. Was a C.S.I. Anyway, this guy, they all call him Big Sir, but his real name is David Ratchet, he said my dad gave him emergency surgery when he had appendicitis and saved his life, hence he’s been looking out for me. He also says he’s innocent. Mistaken identity. I was hoping maybe you could take a look at it? It was fifteen years ago, but, well, you know.”

“I can’t make promises, Barry.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… My dad was in here for years because of something he didn’t do, it’s not fair when that happens, and if there’s a way to help…”

“I can take a look. But you know we’re still looking for a way to get you out of here.”

“I know. But he covered his tracks well. I bet Marlize DeVoe even really met Dominic Lanse before all this.”

“You could just tell them the truth.”

“He threatened Wally. You didn’t answer my first question.”

“Lily’s fine. If you’d told me ten years ago this is where I’d be, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’m not sure I would have believed you two years ago. I’ll take a look at that case for you. Are you sure you don’t need anything else?”

“I’m sure. I think I’ll just nap this afternoon. I’ll see you soon, Laurel.”

“I’ll give everyone your best.”

* * *

“Will you stop thinking about a Bulbasaur?” Cecile asked as soon as Laurel stepped into the Cortex.

“But he’s so cute,” Cisco said. “Hi, Laurel.”

“Hi,” Laurel said.

“I have telepathy,” Cecile said, answering Laurel’s question before she had a chance to ask it.

“Huh,” Laurel said. “That’s new.”

“Cisco, if you get that song stuck in my head, so help me-”

“You kept bringing up Pokémon though!”

“How’s Barry?” Iris asked.

“He has a possible case for us,” Laurel said. “Someone called Big Sir, he said you knew him, Henry?”

“I remember David,” Henry said.

“Barry said he helped him out of a tight spot yesterday and found out he claims to be innocent, I told him I’d take a look.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Linda said.

“What tight spot?” Joe asked.

“Just some guys ganging up on him,” Laurel said. “I’m sure Barry would have been fine.”

Cecile looked at Laurel. That would be the one disadvantage of knowing a telepath. But Cecile didn’t say anything about how not fine Barry clearly was. 

“And you’re needed downtown, Cisco,” Hartley said. “Eddie’s just sent a message.”

“Come on,” Linda said to Laurel. “Let’s see if we can dig up any old news articles.”

* * *

Laurel had a small office, a few doors down from Cecile’s. She’d already got Ratchet’s case file, and Linda had found some old news articles.

“So, how is Barry really?” Linda asked.

“Not good,” Laurel said. “He looked ill, and he was talking about going to sleep as soon as I left. And he’s not healing either. He has a black eye from yesterday still.”

“His healing’s been slowing down for a while. Caitlin said he started passing out a week into having his powers from hypoglycaemia. He’d tell us that. Wouldn’t he?”

“If he passes out, he’ll have to be admitted to the medical wing, and they’ll contact Henry. They’re also more likely to notice his powers.”

“Except Wally thinks they’re shutting down. He says he said something to Barry at superspeed last time he went to visit, you know how they do, and Barry didn’t respond, Wally said it was like he didn’t even notice. Maybe he hasn’t passed out because he doesn’t have his powers right now.”

“He’ll be all right. DeVoe must have missed something.”

“You know he saved my life? I know, he’s saved everyone’s lives, but Zoom would have thrown me off a roof if Barry hadn’t come, and he ended up with a broken back for his troubles. It still causes him problems and it’s because he was saving me.”

“Zoom would have done it anyway.”

“Maybe. I stayed, joined Team Labs, because Barry saved my life, and I wanted to help. If his powers are shutting down, he’s going to be in a lot of pain. You know that.”

“He doesn’t mention it.”

“Neither does Wally. But I’ve seen his face when he’s been running a long time. Sometimes he stretches in the evening and winces, you must have noticed that.”

“Sometimes.”

“He doesn’t complain. But I know he gets disorientated sometimes, when he’s been on his own, because he’s slipped into Flash time and not realised. I think the Speed Force helps with their pain too. Just keeps them a little warmer, maybe, I don’t know how a non-speedster would cope. You said he’s tired. Iris says he’s emotionally exhausted. He did get framed in the exact way Eobard framed his father. And I think he’s physically in a lot of pain too. We have to get him out of there, Laurel, and I don’t know how.”

“Neither do I,” Laurel said. “Not without him coming forward and telling everyone he’s the Flash, and he won’t do it.”

“It’s not even for him,” Linda said. “He’s worried about us. Do you remember what he said when he came out the Speed Force? Hartley kept the videos, I think he’s still trying to translate whatever Barry was writing, and I made a list of everything he said. He said ‘DeVoe, I’m begging you, leave Wally out of it.’ We should have known back then.”

“Do you think that’s why he was so fixated? If he said that, if he time travelled, maybe he doesn’t remember, but maybe there was enough in there to know Clifford DeVoe was the one Abra Kadabra was talking about.”

“Maybe. Maybe it was just because someone was threatening his family and he couldn’t do that again. I don’t know. Do you think this is a distraction?”

“I think Barry genuinely wants to help everyone he meets,” Laurel said. “But maybe he partly meant it as a distraction for us. The files says no motive and only one witness, and Ratchet was there, but in his statement he says he went to help. There’s not a lot of evidence, if Barry had done the forensics for this, it would have been much more thorough. I could ask Patty, but I doubt she’ll find anything new. I think the best chance we have is someone comes through with a confession, and I doubt that’s going to happen.”

“Maybe this wasn’t just a distraction.”

“We are going to get Barry out of there, Linda. I don’t know how, but we are.”

Linda’s phone rang.

“Hey, Wally. Wait, babe, too fast. Cisco and Ralph what? Yeah, we’ll be there soon.”

Linda lowered her phone and looked at Laurel.

“So, Cisco and Ralph have been shrunk by a metahuman?”

“They what?”

* * *

Cisco and Ralph were currently standing on a desk in the Cortex, three inches high, and yelling at each other.

“What?”

“Sylbert Rundine is a metahuman who stole some Dwarf Star the day Barry ran out the Speed Force,” Caitlin said. “He shrank Ralph and Cisco when they mentioned Mercury Labs fifteen years ago.”

“You think he’s the one who framed Ratchet?” Laurel asked.

“Maybe. They look similar enough it would be easy to mistake one for the other, especially given it was dark. That would be a big coincidence.”

“Not with DeVoe pulling strings it wouldn’t. Can you fix them?”

“I’m trying,” Lily said. She sounded stressed. “I’m trying, and Ray’s not answering, and-”

“Hey,” Laurel said. “You want to talk in the hall?”

Lily nodded. So that was why Wally called Linda.

“Hey,” Laurel said. She brushed a strand of Lily’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “What’s wrong?”

“I couldn’t make it work.”

“Couldn’t make what work?”

“I thought I found a way to fix them, but it didn’t work, and now I think they’re unstable.”

“Unstable like…”

“Like they might blow up. I blew it, Laurel, I failed, and I killed two of our-”

“They’re all right.”

“Not for long. I’m the nanoscientist, I’m the one who’s worked closest with Ray on the ATOM suit, I should be the one best suited to fix this, but I couldn’t.”

“You can’t fix everything.”

“But I’m not losing them. They got shrunk by a metahuman, how am I supposed to explain to Mister and Mrs Ramon that their son died because he got shrunk by a metahuman and I- Don’t know the exact variables he used to shrink them, it’s Dwarf Star, I used Ray’s calculations, but Ray’s Dwarf Star isn’t affected by dark matter. I can’t unshrink them, Rundine has to.”

“See? You worked it out.”

“We have no idea where he is, and we have about half an hour.”

“Then get Wally to search the city. You’ll figure it out.”

* * *

Lily came home with Laurel and Wally. She’d been spending a few nights a week, now Martin was back in Central full time. Laurel had asked Linda, but she said something about going to a night club with Iris to do some research.

“Well,” Wally said. “That was eventful.”

“At least Cisco and Ralph are back to normal size,” Lily said. “And not exploded. Did Rundine confess?”

“Not initially,” Laurel said. “But when I talked to him in C.C.P.D. he said enough Captain Singh’s going to keep pursuing it. Linda told me earlier that you think Barry’s losing his powers.”

“Yeah,” Wally said. “Slowly, but we need ten thousand calories a day, and he’s not getting that. I’ll see if I can visit him tomorrow. Dad’s still got nothing.”

“Neither does Ralph,” Lily said. “We’ve got nothing on the DeVoes.”

“Oh,” Laurel said. “Have we looked into Dominic Lanse? Barry said earlier he wouldn’t be surprised if Marlize DeVoe actually met Dominic Lanse before, but what if she didn’t?”

“What if she did?” Lily asked.

“Then why get Blacksmith to kidnap him when she could just get him there herself?” Wally asked. “There’s proof Blacksmith went after him, he gave a statement to C.C.P.D., and even if DeVoe retracted it, Caitlin’s statement mentions him, and hers hasn’t been retracted, and is dated from before DeVoe’s apparent death. Plus, she went after Caitlin in Jitters, there’s video evidence.”

“Ralph might know where to start,” Lily said. “But they must have thought of that too.”

“Maybe,” Laurel said. “Barry’s also said while in Iron Heights that DeVoe threatened you.”

“Which means what?” Wally asked. “We just drop every-”

“No, Wally, if he’s said it while in Iron Heights, there’s a chance there’s a recording somewhere, we can put that forward as evidence of why Barry refused to testify.”

“Oh.”

“I need to get that recording. I’ll come with you to Iron Heights tomorrow.”

“All right,” Wally said.

“Do we actually have something?” Lily asked.

“Maybe,” Laurel said. “I don’t know yet. But it’s something.”

“It’s something.”

* * *

Lily drove in the end. Laurel really wasn’t sure why everyone said Lily was an awful driver, she seemed perfectly fine to Laurel.

She waited outside when Laurel went to talk to Warden Wolfe though.

“You want a recording of your conversation with Mister Allen yesterday,” Wolfe said.

“If you have one,” Laurel said. “He said something yesterday I’ve been thinking about and I think it may be important to his case.”

“His case is shut, and you weren’t his lawyer.”

“But I work for his lawyer, and if Mister Allen is innocent as he claims, his case may need to be reviewed.”

“You asked for David Ratchet’s file yesterday. Do you think my prison is full of innocent people?”

“No, Mister Wolfe. David Ratchet’s case I wanted to look over as a favour to Barry, you understand how he would feel when someone claims to be innocent, given what happened to his father. Barry Allen is a personal friend of mine and I struggle to understand why he would suddenly commit a crime, especially like this.”

“I’ll look, but I may not have anything.”

“Thank you.”

Laurel left his office. Wally was already outside, with Lily, and vibrating.

“What’s wrong?” Laurel asked.

“They wouldn’t let me see Barry,” Wally said. “They wouldn’t let me.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t Wolfe say anything when you went to talk to him?”

“No, and I didn’t get anything.”

“They said Barry’s in solitary for getting involved in another fight.”

“It’s all right,” Lily said. “I’m sure he’s fine. Laurel said he had a black eye yesterday, we know some people have been picking on him, and he couldn’t have been hurt too badly or he’d have needed medical attention and they would have called Henry.”

“But-”

“He’ll be all right, Wally,” Laurel said. “We’ll just make sure everyone knows.”

Wally nodded.

“I’m, err, I’m going to run back to Dad’s. Thanks for the lift, but I… I’ll go tell Dad and Henry and Eddie what happened, so I’ll run.”

Wally shot off.

“He’s been running away from fights, hasn’t he? That’s why it took this long for him to get caught.”

“I think so,” Laurel said. “Wolfe doesn’t want to give me anything. I don’t know if he has a recording or not, but he didn’t want to give it to me if he did, and if he doesn’t have it, why not just say?”

“You think he’s cross with you about Rundine and Ratchet?”

“I don’t know. Who’s visiting Barry tomorrow?”

“No one, according to Wally he won’t be out of solitary until after the weekend.”

“Two days?”

“You saw the evidence yourself it wasn’t his first fight. You want to come Monday?”

“I think Henry, or Joe, or Eddie will want to. But I might see if I can get the Warden to admit if he has anything or not.”

* * *

Ralph was the last person to drag himself into S.T.A.R. Labs on Monday, and he looked exhausted. He flopped into a chair- literally- and his limbs seemed to melt over the sides.

“Ralph,” Iris said. “That’s, err-”

“Sorry,” Ralph said. “I am so tired. I didn’t sleep last night, I kept looking into Dominic Lanse.”

“Did you find anything?” Linda asked.

“His father really did die a few months ago, I haven’t found what of yet, but I did find out he has a sister in Opal City, so I will head over there and ask her a few questions. Anyone want a road trip?”

“You know I can just breach you over?” Cisco asked. “Or we have dimensional extrapolators. It’ll be faster, and no burning fossil fuels, should we consider teleportation-”

“No,” Caitlin said. “But Ralph could use one. Why can’t you just call her?”

“Because I need to prove I am who I say I am, and I may as well drop in and visit my brother while I’m there. So, no takers on the road trip?”

“What if I run you?” Wally asked.

“Ha, no thank you, Speedy Gonzales, I am not going all that way being carried.”

“Oh, Speedy Gonzales, really imaginative, Reed Richards.”

“You know what,” Cisco said. “If we get the train instead of drive, I’ll go with you, Ralph. Maybe if Vibe knocks on her door instead of some sketchy guy, she’ll be more inclined to believe us.”

“I’d have to talk to Captain Singh first,” Eddie said. “But maybe Vibe shouldn’t be the first one to knock on her door?”

“But they all know I went to C.C.P.D. to talk to Barry after he got arrested.”

“Still,” Eddie said. “I’ll go talk to Captain Singh.”

* * *

Laurel already had a case that morning she was expected in court for, so Cecile put in the request for David Ratchet’s appeal. She was still waiting to hear back.

She was out of court by mid-afternoon though, and she could stop by C.C.P.D. on her way back to the office. Maybe Warden Wolfe wouldn’t give her anything, but there was something she could try.

Detective Mary Addie looked a little puzzled at the request.

“I thought Allen’s case was closed,” she said.

“I’m trying to put together an appeal,” Laurel said. “When I went to visit him the other day, he told me he didn’t testify because DeVoe was threatening Wally. If I can prove that, it might give us at least something to look into.”

“This happened before it went to court. If anything, Allen saying Professor DeVoe threatened Wally would be seen as a motive, and they would have used it in their case. But the recording was such poor quality, they left it.”

“Poor quality?”

“You know Vibe’s blurry in most pictures? He looks like just a blue light, and you can’t hear anything, it’s like he was putting out static.”

“But you said Vibe came to visit Barry.”

“And that Vibe thought he was innocent, but they couldn’t exactly find him to ask. You’re certain he is?”

“You’re not?”

“Doyle, Gibbons, Kim, and Spivot are. We all know how Detective West and Eddie feel. Captain Singh hasn’t said anything, but I know he’s fond of Barry. I want to believe he is. I know we’re not exactly close, but he seemed so nice. But I also know a lot of people feel like that when someone they know is convicted. I.A. didn’t find anyone else, and he refused to testify.”

“Which he has a reason for.”

“Because he wanted to protect Wally from the deceased victim?”

“He didn’t specify which DeVoe. He might have meant Marlize.”

“You think Marlize DeVoe killed her husband, framed Barry, then threatened Wally if he said anything?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“You know they could turn it back and say Barry was covering for Wally?”

“You don’t think that.”

“No. He would have just confessed. I think there are far too many similarities to Nora Allen’s case. I don’t know much. But Doyle said DeVoe’s body being stabbed in the chest in the living room with a kitchen knife is exactly how they found Barry’s mother, except Doctor Allen had blood on his hands from trying to help Mrs Allen and Barry’s hands were completely clean. Something’s not right. Gibbons suggested maybe Reverse Flash was involved again.”

“Mary, Joe needs you,” Anderson said. “Ms Lance.”

“Thanks for your help, Detective,” Laurel said.

* * *

Lily was waiting when Laurel arrived at her office.

“Hey, you,” Laurel said. She kissed Lily’s cheek. “Everything okay?”

“Well, no,” Lily said. “Okay, so Iris went to go see Barry earlier, right?”

“Iris went?”

“She tried; the Warden told her Barry’s still having no visitation? For the next week. Is he allowed to do that? And also, if he’s doing that, could he not call and say instead of Iris wasting a trip? She ran, so it’s not like it took her long, but still.”

“I’m heading over there in a minute to talk to David Ratchett about his appeal. Iris ran?”

“Oh, we found another bus meta and he has the powers to take someone’s meta power and give it to someone else? Anyway, that’s why Iris was going to go talk to Barry, she has Wally’s powers right now?”

“Okay.”

“Yep.”

“Is that what your dad was talking about?”

“In theory? I know he really does want to retire, and he wants Jax to have his own life, and Firestorm is part of Jax, but I think it’s part of Dad too, that connection they have, it’s special, and I don’t think either of them want to lose it. Jax is family, I think it’s like Barry and Joe? Dad isn’t Jax’s dad anymore than Jax is Dad’s son, but they still fit, if that makes sense. That connection they have is, I think the only people who could describe it are Ronnie and Jason.”

“Do you get jealous?”

“Pretty sure being stuck in my dad’s head would be the worst. I love him, I do not want to hear everything he’s thinking, and I do not want him to hear what I’m thinking. Maybe I’m just meant to be the one sitting behind the computer.”

“There’s no one I’d rather have in my ear.”

“Aww. Anyway, you’re a big sister, I think I might be too now. And there’s always the Cold Gun.”

“True. I should get up to Iron Heights. I’d say you could come, but I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“I’ll see you later,” Lily said.

* * *

There were only a few things Laurel had to confirm with David Ratchet. His statement he’d made fifteen years previously, and what they could do in terms of claiming compensation for fifteen years false imprisonment. He didn’t seem too worried. Just being free was enough, apparently. Still, there were a few things she could do, should his appeal be successful.

“Thank you so much,” Mister Ratchet said. “Allen said you’d try, I wasn’t expecting much, but definitely not this quickly.”

“I suppose it’s just coincidence your case came up in connection with another case we were working on,” Laurel said. “A lucky one too. And thank you for looking out for Barry, we’ve all been worried about him.”

“Henry saved my life. Least I could do for him was look out for his kid.”

“Barry got in quite a few fights, I hear.”

“He didn’t go looking for them. There are quite a few people in here because of evidence he found, he’s testified at trials, they were shouting threats as soon as he got brought in, I figured it would happen. A few of them tried the same thing when Henry was in here, when they found out Barry was his kid, I wasn’t sure if he was as bad at fighting as his old man.”

“Henry never mentioned that.”

“He assumed Barry would blame himself, even though Henry couldn’t be prouder of him and wouldn’t change a thing.”

“That does sound like Barry.”

“He was better at avoiding fights when he first got here, before he developed this habit of falling asleep anywhere he happened to be at the time. How’s he doing?”

“I haven’t seen him since he asked me to look into your case.”

“You’re a close friend, right? Did you not get told he collapsed?”

“No. Barry collapsed?”

“Couple of hours after he told me he’d asked you to look into my case. I assumed he’d had another one of his moments at first, but he didn’t come back from medical, I was just wondering if you’d heard anything.”

“I haven’t, but I am going to go and find out. Thank you.”

“Thank you. Let me know how he’s doing?”

“I certainly will.”

* * *

Joe and Henry were already at S.T.A.R. Labs when Laurel arrived. She’d been expecting Joe, apparently he’d been hovering over Iris and Wally all day with this powers switch. Henry being there already would help. Ralph, Eddie, and Cisco still weren’t back, and Cecile and Linda were at work. And maybe it would be better to wait, but maybe it would be better to just talk to Henry and Joe.

“Something’s wrong,” Lily said.

Or she could just get straight to it.

“David Ratchet just told me Barry collapsed a few hours after I visited him,” Laurel said. “And he hasn’t seen him since.”

“What?” Joe asked.

“He says Barry’s developed a habit of falling asleep a lot.”

“That makes sense,” Caitlin said. “Wally said he thinks Barry’s been losing his powers, and we know he hasn’t been getting enough to maintain his metabolism, I didn’t know it was this bad, but-”

“Because he didn’t tell us because he didn’t want us to worry about him,” Iris said. “When I get my hands on him…”

“Go back to David not seeing him?” Henry said. “You visited on Friday. It’s Monday. Iris and Wally have both been there. And Barry collapsed and he has not mentioned it to them, he has not called me, he-”

“Knows Barry’s a metahuman,” Hartley said. “He needed forty bags of fluid when he was passing out before. Even if they didn’t do blood tests, that in itself would be enough.”

“But why lie?” Lily asked.

“There is something going on there,” Joe said. “We need to talk to the Warden.”

“He won’t let you do anything today,” Wally said. “And I- Oh. Iris, can you feel him?”

“Can I what?” Iris asked.

“It’s like Barry said when he came out the Speed Force, like Max told me, the Speed Force connects us. It’s like, it’s like, I don’t know how to explain. It’s like, it’s…”

“It’s like when you were having nightmares and Barry knew,” Joe said.

“Yeah. But that was before I got my Speed.”

“But you were being affected by the Speed Force,” Hartley said. “Possibly. Your dreams were like Cisco’s vibes, weren’t they?”

“I don’t remember, they’re fuzzy. I guess so. But they came from the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Which was calcified Speed Force,” Lily said.

“And the Speed Force does have their own way of looking at time,” Wally said. “You think Cisco’s powers are connected to the Speed Force too?”

“Maybe,” Hartley said. “If you and Barry can also open breaches using the Speed Force, and Barry said he sees things when he travels in time and between universes, he told me once he saw me hugging Jerrie when he was fighting Thawne before the Singularity. And Cisco’s powers are vibrations based, which is what the Speed Force is, I think that’s what he said, and he said something about the vibrations of time? He was half asleep at the time, it might be nothing, but I know he vibes while he sleeps.”

“I guess like how they say at absolute zero times stops because there are no vibrations?” Wally said. “The Speed Force and Time being linked makes sense. Maybe I could ask them? I mean, Iris can ask. Or Cisco could probably explain better, he’s probably right. But if Iris doesn’t feel like something is really, really wrong, then I don’t think he’s hurt right now.”

“We still don’t know what’s going on,” Henry said.

“I know. I just… I don’t know what to do.”

“Cecile,” Joe said. “He’s unlikely to say anything to any of us, but Cecile might be able to find something out. Even if he won’t tell her anything, with this telepathy thing…”

“It’s our best chance,” Lily said. “Um. Also, there’s a fire tornado downtown? By the waterfront.”

“You’ve got this,” Wally said to Iris. Iris nodded.

“You can use the mask Ralph used last,” Caitlin said. “I’m coming with you.”

* * *

Laurel used one of Cisco’s extrapolators to breach herself there with Hartley. Iris and Caitlin were already there.

“Okay,” Wally said. “So, normally fire I would try taking away the oxygen?”

“But that won’t work if you’re outside,” Lily said. “This is the guy from the bank who now has Eric Frye’s powers, if his powers are hot enough to melt through steel, they’re easily as hot as Mick’s gun.”

“Caitlin, you can cool him down, if you can get close enough,” Iris said. “Can’t you?”

“I might be able to stop it spreading,” Caitlin said. “But if he can generate more heat, I don’t know how much I can absorb, and people might get hurt.”

“You can put it out,” Hartley said. “You just need to smother it another way. We are next to the waterfront.”

“Hartley’s right,” Lily said. “When you run on water, you create a wake, right, Wally?”

“Right,” Wally said.

“You just need a big enough wake it becomes a wave that lands on him.”

“You want me to create a tidal wave,” Iris said.

“It wouldn’t be tidal?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking Mark Mardon to do this?”

“Iris,” Joe said. “You can do this.”

“And Laurel and I will handle Matthew Kim,” Hartley said. Laurel followed Hartley over to a man on the ground who looked dazed. She smiled and offered him a hand.

“I might take your powers,” he warned.

“I don’t have any,” Laurel said. “You were trying to help, right?”

“I think I caused this problem.”

“Not intentionally,” Hartley said. “We all have days like that. First time I went out to help the Flash it was to try and fix a mistake I made. I’m sure Frost and…”

“Iris West-Snow, the reporter who visited me when the Flash showed up?” Matthew asked.

“How about XS?” Wally asked. “As in excess speed, but also as in extra small?”

“Leave the naming to Cisco,” Iris said. “Is this big enough yet?”

“Sorry, she’s bickering with the Flash over the comms,” Laurel said. “Yeah, it’s Iris. Can you switch them back?”

“I think so,” Matthew said. “I didn’t mean to do this. I just wanted to help.”

“Like I said, we all make mistakes,” Hartley said. Water splashed down onto the new meta, and Caitlin froze a lot of it.

A breach opened and Cisco jumped through.

“Too late, Vibe,” Hartley said. “We’ve got it.”

“Hi, Vibe,” Iris said. Cisco blinked a few times. He looked at Caitlin, then Laurel, then Hartley.

“Dude,” Cisco said. “I left for five minutes.”

* * *

There didn’t seem to be any reason Matthew couldn’t give Wally his powers back when they got to S.T.A.R. Labs. Cisco was still grumbling about having missed Iris being a speedster and Wally not having texted him an hour earlier, but that would be fine. And Ralph and Eddie were waiting for them.

“Are you sure about this, Iris?” Wally asked.

“Running is your thing,” Iris said. “It felt incredible, really, but I think I’ll leave the heroics to you.”

“Besides, Iris doesn’t need powers to be a hero,” Caitlin said. She kissed Iris’ cheek.

“That’s true,” Wally said. “You’re much better behind here than I am.”

“I really am sorry,” Matthew said. “I panicked.”

“It’s cool. Being a metahuman can be pretty scary at first, I get it. I missed you too, Speed Force. I’ll be right back; I’m just going to Keystone quickly.” Wally vanished again, then reappeared and laughed.

“Thank you,” Joe said.

“You know where to find me if you need anything else,” Matthew said. “I won’t tell anyone who you are either.”

“Thank you,” Hartley said. Matthew nodded and left.

“Well,” Ralph said. “Update on the Dominic Lanse situation, his father died from a heart attack. His sister didn’t recognise the name DeVoe and says she hasn’t heard from him for a while, which is unlike him. And that she didn’t even hear about the Amunet Black incident, which is really not like him.”

“So at least we have evidence they were lying about something,” Lily said. Cecile and Linda walked in. “Cecile, we have some good news.”

“Great,” Cecile said. “I have some very bad news.”

“You went to Iron Heights,” Henry said.

“I did.”

“Barry.”

“We might need to break into Iron Heights.”


	11. Cast Iron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case, this chapter (and the next one) do feature Amunet Black and the awful things she was doing in s4

Linda wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Henry angry before. Definitely not like this. She could feel the fury coming off him. And it was entirely justified.

“I think I misheard that,” Hartley said.

“You didn’t,” Cisco said. “I’m going to go break into Iron Heights, who’s coming?”

“That won’t work,” Iris said.

“Then what do you suggest?” Eddie asked.

“Barry’s in the metawing,” Iris said. “Cisco can’t breach out the metawing.”

“We have extrapolators,” Lily said.

“But that won’t help.”

“Iris,” Henry said.

“Barry wouldn’t want us to only save him, and everyone here knows it,” Iris said. “We can breach to Iron Heights and break everyone in there out, but that won’t stop Wolfe and Black just doing this again when they next get the chance. We should have gone after Black after that thing with Dominic, but DeVoe distracted us. Barry’s appeal is in three days and we only have what Ralph found out about Dominic from his sister.”

“And Wolfe’s scheduled it for two days,” Cecile said. “I suspect he’ll stage a breakout, but he wants this done before we get the chance to prove Barry innocent.”

“What if I pretend to be DeVoe and say I’m alive?” Ralph asked. “They’d have to immediately release him then, right?”

“I’m not sure that’s how your powers work,” Caitlin said.

"Barry refused to lie," Laurel said. "I don't think he'd want you to do it for him."

“And if he’s already made his deal with Black, Wolfe will find an excuse,” Joe said. “We’ll keep it as a back-up plan.”

“We can’t tell people who he is either,” Iris said. “He didn’t want that. And not just to keep us safe like he thinks, it keeps him safe too, when people find out who he is stuff like this happens.”

“Do you think the Warden knows who he is?” Wally asked. “Because if Amunet Black could say she’s not just got a speedster, but the Flash himself-”

“I can fix that,” Cisco said.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“I have an idea,” Cisco said. “Wally, I need you.”

“But Barry-”

“Wally, go with Cisco,” Hartley said. “Splitting up and covering every front is the best way to go about this.”

Wally nodded and followed Cisco through a breach.

“Was that smart?” Eddie asked.

“Better he fixates on one thing he can fix than panics about everything he can’t. You should help Cecile and Laurel with Barry’s case. It’s all well and good saving him from this but the only way to get him out of Iron Heights is that appeal.”

“Barry needs us now.”

“And Lily and I will work on our back-up plan,” Hartley said.

“I’ll call David,” Joe said.

“And tell him Cecile has pregnancy telepathy and that’s all the evidence we have?”

“Hartley’s right,” Linda said. “But you could investigate Wolfe. A little at least, if we can tie him to Black then it’s something.”

“And we know the DeVoes were involved with Black somehow,” Iris said. “Ralph, I know you already went over everything, but maybe Henry could help as a second set of eyes?”

“I’m not an investigator, Iris,” Henry said.

“I know, but maybe there’s something that doesn’t add up that you can see.”

“It might be helpful,” Ralph said. “What about you?”

“I might have a lead on Amunet Black. Or I know where to find one. Cait, honey, could you call Felicity?”

“I’ll see what I can dig up from here too,” Caitlin said. “Maybe I can help Joe. When Black took me, she had meta-dampening tech, if we can trace that, maybe that’ll link her to Wolfe?”

“Maybe,” Joe said. “Iris-”

“I know what I’m doing, Dad.”

She left quickly.

“I’ll go with her,” Linda said.

* * *

Iris was sitting in her car, head resting on the steering wheel. Linda could see tears when she got in.

“What are you doing?”

“Coming with you,” Linda said. “You’ve been shot at before, and been threatened, I’d feel more comfortable if you had some company. Pretty sure Joe would right now too. Barry will be fine, Iris. Are you okay?”

“Not really.”

“You’re going to want some company then. What’s your lead?”

“It’s more of a hope.”

“Iris.”

“Lisa Snart. She warned Lily after Black took Caitlin, I was hoping maybe she’d be willing to give us something. If it puts me in her debt, I don’t care.”

“You know where to find her?”

“I have a pretty good idea.”

* * *

_Saints and Sinners_ was the exact type of bar Linda’s parents had told her never to go in. The lack of cameras anywhere nearby was obvious, and there were several people she knew for certain had been arrested before.

But Iris marched in bold as brass and went straight over to a table at the back and sat opposite Shawna Baez. Linda slid in next to Iris.

“I hoped you’d be here,” she said. “Much easier to talk here than to try and talk to Axel in Iron Heights. I doubt he’s allowed visitors right now anyway.”

“And you thought coming here was smart,” Shawna said. “What do you want, West?”

“It’s West-Snow now,” Iris said. “I need your help.”

“You want my help,” Shawna said. She raised an eyebrow. “And how do I know the Flash isn’t waiting outside?”

“These two bothering you, Boo?” Mark Mardon asked. A hailstone hovered over his hand and he sat next to Linda, trapping them in the booth. Lisa sat down next to Shawna and wrapped an arm around her.

“Would you look at this,” Lisa said. “What are the Flash’s two favourite reporters doing in a place like this?”

“Looking for information,” Iris said. “On Amunet Black.”

“Heard she got frisky with your wife a few months back,” Mark said. “Congratulations on that.”

“Thanks,” Iris said. “I could have done without you lot destroying everything but luckily wedding insurance in Central City does cover you lot destroying everything.”

“Is that what this is?” Lisa asked. “We owe you one for messing up your big day?”

“It’s about Amunet Black and Warden Wolfe’s little _side project_ ,” Iris spat. “Do you know about it?”

“Sure,” Shawna said. “Why are you bothering? It’s been going on for years and no one has noticed before. You’ve only just noticed.”

“Maybe,” Iris said. “But I will not sit and do nothing while things like that are happening in my city.”

“And what exactly are you planning on doing about it?”

“What I do best. I’m going to tell people the truth.”

“No one will listen. No one cares about metahumans. We’re all just criminals in their eyes. Even the Flash, poster boy for the good guys, gets it.”

“We know,” Linda said. “But we’re all on the same side here, Shawna. Flash, Vibe, Frost, you guys, and all those other metas who just want to live normal lives.”

“Neither of you are metahumans.”

“But our friends are. My Earth-2 doppelganger is, so I assume there’s a strong possibility I have a metagene that’s not activated, if I have kids maybe they would be.”

“And we’re all people,” Iris said. “Let me tell you about Bette Sans Souci, Shawna. The Flash had been the Flash for just over a month. Bette had the powers to turn anything she touched to bombs; she couldn’t control it. She managed to put clothes on so maybe she could have learnt to, maybe we could have done something, we wanted to help her, and a man called General Wade Eiling killed her because he couldn’t exploit her. Maybe I can’t fix this, maybe no one listens to us, but I won’t sit back and do nothing.”

“And what would you be willing to give us in return for our help, Mrs West-Snow?” Lisa asked.

“The Flash’s identity isn’t my secret, I can’t tell you that,” Iris said. “I can persuade Cisco to upgrade your gun. Pied Piper and Lily are planning on a prison break if we don’t stop Amunet Black before her next visit, we could break your Rogues out too. What do you want?”

“You said metagene,” Mark said. “This is genetic.”

“Yes,” Linda said.

“I have a daughter. Joss’ mother and I were kids, I didn’t stick around. Maybe it was the biggest mistake of my life, but it’s better for her now if I stay away. Keep her on the straight and narrow, away from all this. But if Clyde had this and I have this, Joss might too.”

“It’s triggered by a particle of dark matter we haven’t fully identified yet as far as Caitlin can work out,” Iris said. “But it’s possible.”

“Mark,” Lisa said

“I never thought I’d say this, but let the Flash have her,” Mark said. “Not for you two, for Joss. I can’t change time, go back and actually be a dad, but I can help stop someone who would hurt her. Even if she’s not a meta, Black’s behind that new drug, and I do not want any of that to find its way to Joss.”

“Lenny always was very anti-drug, especially when it came to kids,” Lisa said. “And last I heard you were already causing problems for her sticking your nose in that.”

“If she’s behind Weeper I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of where she is,” Iris said. “Thank you.”

“Just keep us out that report you’re writing. Wouldn’t want to go ruining our reputation.”

“Of course not,” Iris said.

“And good luck,” Shawna said.

“Try and stay out of trouble.”

Shawna and Lisa laughed, and Mark stood to let them out.

* * *

Iris had a lot on Weeper. A list of clubs she’d found it at, chemical analysis, a list of effects, some photographs of people involved in the business. One man cropped up more than anyone else.

“I think if anyone’s going to lead us to Amunet, it’s him,” Iris said. “I’ve heard people call him Norvock, I found a Matthew Norvock who used to work at Central City Zoo up until the accelerator explosion then he more or less fell entirely off the grid.”

“You think he’s a meta?”

“I think people have told me he’s got a snake for an eye and given this is Central, I’ve been assuming that’s literal. I’ve followed him a couple of times, there’s a few bars he goes to more frequently than any others, and one which is supposedly owned by Robert Beradinelli, which was a known alias of Frank Santini, and clearly he doesn’t own it anymore but someone’s still running it in his name, and from what I found the first lots of Weeper seemed to originate around there. It’s down near the old docks.”

“Does this seem like a coincidence to you? Amunet Black being behind Weeper?”

“It might be just that Amunet Black has gained enough of a footing in Central’s criminal underworld it was only a matter of time before we ran into her. Or it’s coincidence, but I don’t like that we’ve had this and last week we had Barry ask us to look into David Ratchet’s case hours before we came across Sylbert Rundine and he was on that bus.”

“If we’re being manipulated, it’s probably DeVoe.”

“I don’t know how though.”

“We’ll get Barry back, then we’ll figure it out.”

* * *

There were a few people out. Not as many as there would have been on a Friday or at the weekend, but enough probably Amunet Black’s club was busy. They had their hands stamped before they were allowed in, but no one searched them.

“Act drunk,” Iris whispered. She took Linda’s hands to start dancing. “Norvock’s heading towards the back.”

I’ll get a picture,” Linda said. She pulled out her phone and positioned herself next to Iris so it looked like they were taking a selfie. Norvock didn’t seem to notice.

Someone did though, and Linda slipped her phone away as a bouncer started walking towards them.

“Oh wow,” a man said. “You’re so pretty.” He offered them two tiny vials of some glowing blue stuff. “It’s love. We can share!”

“I’m married, sorry,” Iris said. She giggled. “My wife’s so smart and pretty, I love her so much.”

“I’m so happy for you!” The man threw his arms around them, then wandered off. Iris and Linda checked their pockets- nothing missing, presumably he was actually under the influence and not working for Black- then looked around. The bouncer had disappeared.

“Did you see Wally?” Iris whispered. “I swear I just…”

“He’d have run over if he was here,” Linda said. “Norvock’s heading through a back door. Think we can blag our way in?”

“Better idea,” Iris said. She tapped someone on the shoulder. “Hi. Did you know that guy over there is the one with all the love? If you ask nicely, I’m sure he’ll give you plenty.”

The guy looked at Iris, then to the guy standing outside the backroom Iris had pointed at, then back to Iris.

“And it’s free,” Iris said. “Way better than what they’re already giving out. Stronger, and it lasts longer.”

He smiled and started walking to the backroom. Not quietly.

“You think that’ll work?” Linda asked.

“Let’s see,” Iris said. People were starting to swarm the bouncer, and the two of them slipped past while he was trying to deal with drunk people.

The backroom was dark, and they tucked behind a pillar.

“Word’s being passed around,” Norvock said. Iris hit record on her phone, and Linda dialled Hartley’s number. “Everything should be ready for tomorrow.”

“Excellent!” Amunet Black said. “We’re going to make quite the profit tomorrow, Norvock, I can feel it.”

“Weeper’s doing well. Are you sure about adding him to the lots?”

“He is quite an investment,” Black said. Iris and Linda peered around the pillar and saw a man sitting in a chair, dishevelled and crying. And his tears were glowing blue and being collected in tiny vials. “Did you find out why Dominic Lanse was in here?”

“He’s not Lanse anymore. Clifford DeVoe took over his body or something.”

“Interesting. Invite him to the auction, I want to talk.”

Iris leaned back against the pillar.

“Did you hear something?” Black asked.

“I’m going to do something reckless,” Iris whispered. “Cover me?”

Linda hit an alert on her phone as Iris brushed herself off and walked straight into Amunet Black’s meeting.

“Excuse me!” she said. “Iris West-Snow, Central City Picture News, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions, Ms Black?”

“Mrs West-Snow,” Black said. “I thought you’d be taller.”

“I don’t know why you’d think that, I was standing right next to my wife when you kidnapped her in December.”

“Search her.”

Norvock patted Iris down, took her phone, and handed it to Blacksmith.

“Hoping to record our little conversation, Iris? Can I call you Iris?”

“Well, Amunet, I was rather hoping for an interview,” Iris said. Black crushed Iris’ phone with her heel. “You could have just declined. I already have enough to expose you for selling this new drug. What I hated was overhearing you talk about this poor gentleman as if he were some kind of thing you have a right too.”

“Check if she came alone,” Black said. Linda ducked more out of sight, but not until someone grabbed her, and pulled her out of her hiding spot. “Ms Park, is it? Hand over whatever you’re using as a recording device.”

Linda hung up and passed Black her phone. She smashed Linda’s too.

“Rude,” Iris said. “Now, Amunet, I assume this young gentleman isn’t the first. My wife told me all about what you did to Dominic Lanse. What exactly are you planning on doing with the metahumans you’re collecting?”

“You know, I do enjoy your articles,” Black said. “It’s such a shame neither of you will be walking out of here.”

A breach opened and Laurel and Cisco were standing between Black and Iris and Linda.

“Oh, goody, it’s Central’s prettiest hero.”

“Sorry, I’m in a monogamous relationship,” Cisco said. “And you are an awful person.”

“I’m sure you two would be very popular tomorrow.” A blue glow came from the corners of the room. Power dampeners.

“Sorry,” Laurel said. “I’m not a metahuman.”

She activated her Cry to knock out the dampeners while Linda and Iris rushed to the man to free him. He seemed terrified.

“Don’t touch me.”

“We just want to help,” Linda said. “Promise.”

Metal came flying at them and struck him. He clutched at his side.

“Vibe!” Iris shouted. Cisco nodded and opened a breach. The three of them tumbled into the Cortex. Caitlin already had gloves on and a bed ready, and Hartley and Joe were waiting.

“How long have we been friends?” Hartley asked as Iris helped the man Amunet had called Weeper over to Caitlin.

“You always let it go to voicemail unless Cisco can answer for you,” Linda said. “Please tell me you let that go to voicemail, we really need that recording.”

“Oh. Right.” Hartley pulled out his phone and put it on speaker so Joe and Linda could listen, right as Cisco and Laurel breached in.

“Amunet Black ran off,” Cisco said. “Wait, is that-”

“It’s evidence you need to add to Barry’s appeal,” Linda said.

“But she hasn’t mentioned Wolfe,” Iris said. “Dad?”

“He’s careful,” Joe said. “He’s been very careful. I’ll keep looking, and I’m calling David.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Mortimer Gloom wasn’t keen to stick around. He didn’t want to be named in Iris’ article, didn’t want to go to the police, he just wanted to go home. He answered a few questions though, and he did accept Laurel’s number when she offered it, even if he didn’t intend to call it.

It did mean Iris had plenty for her piece on Weeper though.

Linda was exhausted when they arrived at Picture News the next morning. Iris had already e-mailed her article to Scott, and they’d both arrived early to talk to him, at his request. Also, because they’d both been at S.T.A.R. Labs all night with barely any sleep.

They weren’t the only ones there.

“Ms West,” General Eiling said. He was sat at Iris’ desk, and Scott was stood behind him looking confused.

“It’s Mrs West-Snow now, Wade,” Iris said.

“Congratulations. I hear you’ve been investigating Amunet Black. I’m afraid I can’t let you publish that; you’d be interfering in a classified investigation.”

“You’re involved,” Iris said. “Of course you are. I’m sure what she’s selling is of great interest to you.”

“I’m not sure I like what you’re implying, Ms West.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Just keep this to yourself.”

“No.”

“I’ve kept your friend’s secret for the last four years. That can change.”

“Then I’ll spill yours,” Iris said. “I’ll tell everyone exactly what happened to Bette Sans Souci, and to Firestorm.”

“Consider yourself warned.”

“If you touch him, you’ll regret it. You really think Central City would side with you over the Flash?”

“Central City has plenty of heroes. They don’t even notice when one goes missing. Until next time, Ms West.”

“Go screw yourself,” Iris said. Eiling shrugged and left. “Scott, I need to go.”

“I have some questions,” Scott said.

“I know who the Flash is,” Iris said. “Both of them. No, I won’t tell you, I want to keep them safe. And I won’t let Eiling hurt them either.”

“He was here about your article.”

“I assume that means it didn’t make today’s paper.”

“A military general just threatened you, and you still want to publish it?”

“We have to,” Linda said. “We’ve got evidence Amunet Black is trafficking metahumans, we’ve heard the warden of Iron Heights is involved, Scott. The city deserves to know the truth about this and maybe we don’t have everything yet, but at least if Iris prints this it’ll cause her some problems and interrupt it.”

“I quit, Scott,” Iris said.

“What?” Scott asked.

“I quit. This article has nothing to do with Picture News, it’s just me. I still have my blog, I’ll put it up there.”

“Iris,” Linda said.

“You have other staff to worry about, I get it. You have reporters and editors and cleaners and photographers and interns and lawyers and you want to protect them too, I understand. If I quit, if I don’t print this through Picture News, the only person picking a fight with Central’s underworld and a military general is me.”

“If you think I’m letting you do this alone, you’re sorely mistaken,” Linda said. “This one is your article but we’re in this together.”

“I’d rather not lose two of my best reporters on the same day,” Scott said. “Iris, are you really sure about this?”

“I am,” Iris said.

“I agree with you. Reporters are supposed to spread the truth, no matter what the Picture News owners might think. I’ll run the article, and if Mister Wayne has anything to say he can get the train down here and tell me himself. And I will accept your notice, both of you, if you still want to give it. You two both heard about the Citizen, I assume.”

“It went bust a few years ago,” Linda said. “Why bring it up now?”

“I heard Auerbach is selling off the name, and a few interested people have considered starting it up again. No one you’d approve of, I’m sure, I heard the Rathaways get mentioned. Whoever buys it will be needing a new editor, and reporters.”

“I’m not working for the Rathaways. Hartley’s a friend-”

“I wasn’t suggesting that. Just think about it if you’re sure about this?”

“We will,” Iris said. “Thank you, Scott.”

* * *

Cisco and Wally were still out when they got back to the Cortex, but Lily had brought Martin. Cecile and Laurel had a little more for their appeal, but they didn’t know if it was enough, Felicity hadn’t called with anything yet, and Ralph hadn’t dug up anything new.

“Scott’s running the article, but it won’t be in today’s paper,” Iris said. “Eiling showed up, apparently Amunet Black is something he’s been investigating.”

“Who’s Eiling?” Ralph asked.

“Long story short, a dick,” Lily said. “He kidnapped Dad once and hurt him, so Hartley, Ronnie, and I broke into his military base to rescue Dad, and then after Barry woke up he killed Bette before we even got a chance to be proper friends, and he knows who Barry is.”

“He designed a weapon specifically for Barry,” Martin said. “Ray and Sara said Agent Smith threatened him with it when informing him of the Dominator’s ultimatum.”

“He also said he’d tell people Barry’s identity,” Linda said. “He said people don’t notice when he goes missing, so-”

“That’s not necessarily because he no longer thinks Barry is more use as the Flash.”

“We’ve known Eiling’s interested in metas longer than Barry’s been awake,” Hartley said. “I’ll talk to Cisco. I think Lily and I already have our plan.”

“I’ll go looking for Amunet Black,” Ralph said.

“Why?” Caitlin asked.

“To follow her. I’m a P.I., I’ve done it before. She’s planning on heading to Iron Heights tomorrow, so she’ll have to set everything up today, surely. She can’t just be doing this underneath her bar.”

“The first place we should check should be Eiling’s old base,” Lily said. “We can go quickly, if we take an extrapolator.”

“All right,” Ralph said. “Anyone else?”

“I’ll come,” Iris said.

“We should go in, Eddie,” Joe said. “Explain everything to David. See if there’s anything we can do.”

Eddie nodded.

* * *

Linda was at Picture News when a detective she didn’t recognise walked in. Dark curly hair, tan skin and brown eyes, fairly tall...

“Ms Park? I’m Detective August Heart, I have a few questions for you about Amunet Black.”

“Iris West-Snow wrote that article, not me,” Linda said. “And it isn’t being printed until tomorrow.”

“That does explain why you were at her club last night.”

“You’re not here to threaten us to stay out of it too, are you?”

“No,” Detective Heart said. “I’m investigating Edward Clariss who is no longer in Iron Heights and the one associate I found pointed me in the direction of Amunet Black. I didn’t see you leave after you got into the backroom.”

“Vibe and Black Canary helped us out,” Linda said. “The rest will be in Iris’ article in the morning. It’s about Weeper, not Clariss. I don’t have any evidence as to how she’s getting anyone out of Iron Heights, but it’s not alone.”

“Thank you,” Detective Heart said. He offered Linda a card. “My number, if you do hear anything, and I’d like to speak with Mrs West-Snow when she has a moment too.”

“I’ll let her know,” Linda said. Detective Heart nodded and left, and Linda called Iris. “A detective’s just come looking into links between Clariss and Black, he’s no longer in Iron Heights.”

“We might have bigger problems,” Iris said. “Black’s heading to Iron Heights.”

“Already?”

“I know.”


	12. Barry's Terrible Day

Barry really ought to congratulate Cisco on the meta-wing. It did its job really well.

Staring up at the ceiling, cut off from his Speed, he was really regretting how well it worked.

At least the drugs had worn off. And at least some of that I.V. probably had been saline and maybe some glucose because he wasn’t feeling quite as exhausted. Still not great, but not as bad. Except even when his metabolism had slowed too much to maintain his Speed and that had gone dormant, he’d been able to feel the Speed Force. He had been too tired to run, but he could still feel their connection. This was different, in here his Speed was just gone, that hum under his skin was gone, and he was utterly alone.

And with no sources of outside light, or changes in the dim artificial, Barry had no idea of the time, or how long he’d been there. They’d put something in his I.V. to knock him out to get him here, he’d been told that much, but Barry didn’t know if that had taken his speedster metabolism into account, which wasn’t working, or maybe it hadn’t but his metabolism had slowed so much it had taken him longer than a normal person to wake up, all he knew was that he’d been in the medical wing, and then he’d been in the metawing, he could have been unconscious for days for all he knew. And he’d stupidly lost count of the meals he’d been given. Five? Six? Was that three a day or two a day? One a day?

Sitting still was hard enough at the best of times, this was just…

If he got out of here, he was going to have some serious words about how metahumans were treated in Iron Heights.

When, not if, Barry reminded himself. When, not if. His friends would never leave him. Unless they couldn’t find proof he was innocent, he had received a life sentence with no parole, and he was a metahuman, when metahumans went to Iron Heights they went to the metawing, even if he was really hoping being knocked out wasn’t normally how they did it, and Barry was pretty sure the only way out of here was the Rogues. And Lisa was smart, and even if she didn’t connect the dots and work out he was the Flash, she still knew he was a C.S.I., and that Joe had been his foster dad. Axel said she’d convinced them not to hurt people because they could have more fun with someone trying to thwart their plans, that Mark had called it quits with Joe because Barry did sort of save his life that time, but if he ended up on his own, no powers, surrounded by Rogues?

He couldn’t see that ending well.

* * *

Barry didn’t recognise the woman who walked in with Warden Wolfe. But from how she was dressed, the black suit, awful hair, he could certainly make an educated guess.

“Mina Chaytan,” Wolfe said. “She can animate effigies.”

“Oh, I like it,” probably Amunet Black said. “I’d very much like to see that.”

“I’ll animate this,” Chaytan said. She held up her middle finger, and Black laughed.

“Love that attitude. This one?”

“Much more interested in you, sweetheart,” that guy they’d brought in after Barry said. Barry rolled back over onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

“Sylbert Rundine,” Wolfe said. “He can shrink objects and regrow them.”

“I have several clients who would be very interested in that,” Black said. “Next?”

“Ramsey Deacon, he can control technology.”

“I can hear the fights breaking out already,” Black said with glee.

“Becky Sharpe manipulates luck.”

“And if you’ve shown me those gems first, this one must be something special.” She stopped in front of Barry’s cell and he refused to get up from the bed, or look at her.

“Something you’ve wanted for a long time,” Wolfe said. “He’s a speedster.”

“Oh, you found me another one,” Black said. “A handsome one too. I’ll take them.”

“Which one?”

“All of them. You’ll have to give me a few days to prepare, and deal with this nosey journalist poking around in some of my other business, but shall we discuss terms?”

This was not good.

* * *

Okay. Not good at all. And he had no obvious way of getting out of this without powers. But Joe would find him. Right? Joe would know. Though he’d been knocked out and dragged to the metawing, that didn’t exactly fill Barry’s heart with hope. It had to have been at least a few days, Wolfe must have had an excuse for why Barry couldn’t have visitors, and that couldn’t last forever, whatever it was. Joe wouldn’t let them fake his death; he would question every single thing about that. And Joe knew he wouldn’t just run away, so even if Wolfe claimed there was a break-out, Joe would know. Unless he made it sound like Barry was an unwilling part of it? Maybe that Axel took a shine to him after their one conversation and kidnapped him, it wasn’t as if anyone would believe the second Trickster over the warden of Iron Heights, and Barry wouldn’t even be the first Allen to be kidnapped by Axel from Iron Heights. Iris knew Axel had tried to be friends with him before he’d broken out. And Wolfe could always leave after, he wouldn’t have to keep this up after. There was no guarantee Joe would find him before Amunet Black came back. And even if she didn’t have power dampening tech- which he already knew she did because Caitlin had said- he still wouldn’t be able to run; he was just so tired.

And it wasn’t just him in danger either. There were four other people in here with him, and he couldn’t let this happen to them either. He had to find a way out of here for all of them, he couldn’t just wait for Joe, however much he wanted to.

There had to be something.

* * *

“You know you won’t get through that door,” Deacon said. Rundine didn’t stop hammering on it. Barry guessed he’d been at it for hours, certainly for long enough for Barry to have a pounding headache. “I’m almost glad I won’t have to put up with you anymore.”

That wasn’t just his head that hurt. Barry darted to the small toilet as fast as he could without speed.

“Look, the kid’s worried about going too,” Rundine said.

“Or your noise made him sick,” Deacon said. “At least we won’t be in here.”

“Amunet Black runs a black market for metahumans,” Barry said. He wiped his mouth. “As in, we’re the things she’s selling. I’ve come across her once, she kidnapped my friend, and the other metahuman she had died.”

“She’s not selling me,” Chaytan said. “We have to get out of here.”

“Well then,” Rundine said. He banged on the door again.

“I don’t think that’s going to help,” Becky said. “And none of us have powers in here.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“I might,” Barry said. “How long until food?”

* * *

Carrot sticks were perfect for clogging a toilet. Now all he had to do was wait for someone to come and unclog it.

Which either happened very quickly, or Barry passed out again. Given he seemed to be lying on the floor and the guard had actually knelt next to him and seemed to be trying to check if Barry was breathing, he was leaning towards passing out.

He almost felt bad taking a spare battery and a screwdriver out of the bag that had been left next to him. But the guard didn’t seem to notice, Snart would be proud.

The warden walked in and Barry tilted his head back and blinked.

“Oh, hey Warden,” he said. “How’s it going?”

“What are you playing at, Allen?”

“I don’t suppose you have any toothpaste on you? Or just some water? My mouth tastes really bad.”

Wolfe sighed and offered Barry a bottle of water. He sat up with a groan and spun around to accept it and take a large gulp.

“So, anyway,” Barry said. “As I may have mentioned to your doctor, I’m supposed to be on ten thousand calories a day with my powers, and okay, they’re not working in here, but I did just spend three months in the other part of your prison getting less than the recommended two thousand for adults regardless of superpowers, so I guess because there it’s my metabolism that was affected, it’s my metabolism that’s still being affected. I mean, if I’d been eating enough you do know you wouldn’t have been able to knock me out, and my healing’s obviously not been working because I can still feel a black eye from ages ago. And also I can see my ribs so maybe I’m past the metabolism shutting down stage and just getting into malnourishment, or maybe I have scurvy, I think my gums did bleed slightly when I brushed my teeth last, I have no idea what day it is so I don’t know when that was, anyway, this is a food issue and I would really appreciate it if maybe I could have just a tiny bit extra? Just like, a couple of sandwiches. An orange if it is scurvy. I mean, I would literally eat food out the garbage right now. Well, maybe. Well. Food a supermarket was about to throw out because it’s past its best before date but is still fine and edible for like three more weeks, yeah, I would probably eat that. If it’s got a bit of mould, I guess my powers do also affect illness and stuff because I don’t think I’ve had a cold since I got them, so a bit of food poisoning I can probably get over in a few hours, maybe not right now, but sure, if I can cut the mould off, why not. If it was bright blue and glowing I probably wouldn’t. I mean, I would picture Dad’s face, and Joe’s, and Eddie’s, and they wouldn’t appreciate me eating radioactive stuff. Then again, Eddie did once see me set a toaster on fire, put it out with a tea towel, and then fish the toast out and eat it anyway, so he might not be surprised so maybe I would eat it, I think it depends on if anyone is standing in front of me? So, maybe I would eat a sandwich that had fallen in a nuclear reactor or something, but-”

“If I give you an extra sandwich, will you shut up?”

“My parents taught me it’s rude to talk with your mouth full, so for at least the few seconds it takes me to eat a sandwich, sure. Well, depending on what sort of sandwich, I don’t strictly keep kosher but I have been trying harder with doing that recently, so I think I am so hungry I would not turn down anything you offered me right now, but I would prefer something not ham at least, maybe marmalade could help with the maybe scurvy, that has oranges in it, or maybe-”

“Allen. Shut up.”

“Think of it this way. I have not been eating enough to use my powers, and I might just die, and you won’t get paid by Amunet Black if I just die, so it’s really in your interests to take better care of your metahuman prisoners because none of you seem to remember the second half of that word is human, and this whole thing is super fucked up, Greg.”

“Do not ever call me Greg again. You can have an extra sandwich with your next meal.”

“Thanks. Can I keep this water? I also have a headache. And I think I hit my head passing out so I might also have a concussion.”

“Whatever. Is it fixed?”

“Yes, sir,” the guard said. “I’ll check the pipes underneath too.”

Wolfe left with the guard and the door locked again. At least the others waited until they were out of earshot.

“Please tell me annoying the Warden into letting you go was not your plan,” Chaytan said.

“Getting there,” Barry said. “I was just trying to get him to go away.” He pulled out the battery he’d stolen, stabbed it with a screwdriver, and dropped it into the water and shook it.

“What are you doing?” Deacon asked.

“Some batteries use sulphuric acid as an electrolyte, I need it.”

“You think making some acid is going to help in this situation?”

“Would you rather Rundine goes back to banging on the door with his lunch tray? Because I was not joking about that concussion.”

“He called you Allen,” Rundine said. “You’re that cop that was on the news.”

“C.S.I.”

“Why would a cop get involved in a prison break?” Deacon asked.

“Because I don’t want to be sold to Amunet Black?”

“He killed that teacher, he’s fine with crime,” Rundine said.

“I did not kill him,” Barry said.

Barry pried a panel off the wall with his stolen screwdriver and poured the acid onto the wires. The doors short-circuited and his cell opened.

Each cell was operated by an electronic lock. Hartley or Cisco could probably hack it in seconds.

Fortunately, Barry had been doing a lot of reading about computer science and talking to Felicity.

Becky Sharpe’s cell opened, and Barry repeated the process on Chaytan’s, Rundine’s, and Deacon’s.

“Hey look,” he said. “Go acids. Coming?”

“No,” Becky said. “I remember you, you tried to help me. And then I hurt a lot of people. It’s safer if I stay here.”

“But you won’t be,” Barry said. “Becky, Amunet Black will use you to hurt even more people than last time. Please. Let me help you.”

Becky nodded.

“Great,” Deacon said. “Now where do we go?”

“This place is built on top of the first Iron Heights, if we can get down there, the dampeners won’t reach, you four will have your powers back. Some of the old doors aren’t guarded, and if we can get far enough out, we should be able to get past the fence.”

“That sounds like a bad plan.”

“In my defence, this is the one I came up with when I was fourteen and trying to hypothetically break my dad out of prison.” Barry stumbled and Becky caught him. “Anyway, we should be quick.”

* * *

Underneath the metawing was dark, damp, and cold. And Barry could feel himself getting woozy again.

They’d been walking long enough he had no doubts Wolfe had noticed they were gone.

He stumbled again.

“I think we should rest for a minute,” Becky said. She nodded at Barry. “I do only have little legs, compared to you. And these shoes are terrible.”

“I’ll steal you some nice ones when we get out of here,” Rundine said.

“Aww, thanks.”

“Feel like maybe you shouldn’t immediately go back to stealing,” Barry said. He sat and lent against the wall. Now his head and his back hurt, and he still felt sick. “You know the Flash will just catch you and throw you back in here.”

“Not if you help. You’re a speedster too.”

“So?”

“Shame you can’t just run us out of here,” Chaytan said.

“I wish. I wasn’t actually lying to the Warden though.”

“About the powers not working bit or about the not eating radioactive waste because your dad would disapprove and that being your only reason.”

“The powers bit. Though I am still hungry. My healing’s already slowed back down to pre-powers rate, and I’m not sped up right now. What are your powers like?”

“What?”

“You can turn yours off, right? You consciously choose which effigies to animate? You don’t go around with them following you. Ramsey, Sylbert, you both choose to use your powers.”

“Yes,” Deacon said. “Why would I not?”

“How does it feel?”

“Powerful.”

“Mine do that too,” Becky said. “I let them get out of control, but on a small scale I can control them. Are yours not like that?”

“You make a choice to use yours,” Barry said. He rubbed his face. “I have to make a conscious choice to slow down back to normal human speeds. I don’t get an off switch. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, there’s lightning in my veins, and through the Speed Force I am connected to everything, and it would be so easy for me to run and never stop, but if I did that there’s people I love who couldn’t keep up, so I have to slow down for them. And it is so exhausting sometimes.”

“Could have run yourself out of this place,” Deacon said. “Could have run from the cops.”

“Sure,” Barry said. “Except I’m innocent and running away would have made it worse. Everyone knowing I’m a metahuman would have made it worse, I do know what people think about us. Even the Flash gets it, Central City Times are always going on about he’s actually the cause of all of Central’s problems. My best friend is a journalist, I end up reading a lot of newspapers. Metahumans are always the bad guys.”

“Maybe they’re right,” Becky said.

“You should be grateful,” Rundine said. “You were given a gift.”

“A gift which hurt a lot of people. Maybe they’ve got a point.”

“They don’t,” Barry said. “You might have powers, that doesn’t change who you are. My boyfriend’s a metahuman, his power is healing, and he only uses it to help people. I don’t think anyone’s born a good person or a bad person, it’s a choice. You decide who you are.”

“Other people don’t see it that way,” Chaytan said.

“I know. But I guess it’s hard for a single person to change the world. Better to just do your best to help where you can, and hope people carry that cycle on. That’s why I became a C.S.I., I just wanted to help people.”

“Well, sitting in here won’t help anyone,” Deacon said. “Come on.”

Mina Chaytan helped Barry stand up. He nodded at her and they carried on walking.

* * *

The last door they came across was locked, but Deacon handled that. They stepped through and the lightning trickled back into Barry. He could feel the warmth radiating, and he knew he didn’t have enough energy to heal, but the Speed Force was desperately trying.

A rush of joy hit him so hard he almost fell again.

“Wally,” Barry whispered.

“What?” Mina asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “Okay. You should all be able to get out easily now.”

“Is that so, Mister Allen?” Warden Wolfe stepped into the room. He had guards and Amunet Black with him, and he fired the Boot at Barry. It clamped around his leg and Barry cried out as the rush of electricity knocked him to the ground.

“Leave him alone,” Becky Sharpe said.

“Now, now, dear,” Amunet Black said. “Let’s not have all this drama, shall we? If you come with me, you won’t be in prison anymore.”

“But not free,” Mina Chaytan said. She focused and a statue of a bird swooped down and landed on the floor between the five of them and Black and Wolfe.

“Honestly,” Amunet Black said. “First that incessant Mrs West-Snow causes so many problems, and now you’re all being stubborn? I came all this way a day early for you because of the headaches she’s caused me.”

Iris. Iris knew what she was doing, if Iris knew then everyone knew, except she was a day early, so maybe they didn’t know-

A ripple appeared in the air and Barry watched in horror as Clifford DeVoe’s flying chair appeared, with DeVoe in Dominic’s body sitting in it. A pulse went out, knocking the guards off their feet. Amunet Black sprinted out the room.

“Hello, Flash.”

“DeVoe,” Barry said. “Get behind me.”

“What are you going to do?” Mina asked. “You can barely stand even without that thing.”

“Please.”

“You’re the Flash,” Ramsey said. His eyes glowed purple and the Boot shot another electric pulse through Barry. He gasped.

“Please,” Barry said. “Please, he’s the villain.”

“You’re the reason we’re in here.”

“You killed people, then you took over my suit, used it to hurt my friend, and tried to blow me up!”

“So, you admit it,” Sylbert said. He turned to Barry.

“You I had nothing to do with, I’ve been in here for months. I guess I did inadvertently give all of you your powers, but you have to listen to me, he’s the bad guy, he’s dangerous, get behind me. Please.”

You really think you’re going to be able to fight me, Mister Allen?” DeVoe asked. “Without powers, pinned to the floor with that contraption, and with a concussion?”

“How do you know about my concussion? You really are spying on me.” Barry almost laughed. “Can you please not do that; I really cannot go through this again.” He could feel himself shaking, that wasn’t Speed Force shaking. And breathing was hard, oh it had been a while since he’d had a panic attack, deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth, focus on the breathing, focus on the breathing, DeVoe was right there-

Another pulse went around the room and the Boot on Barry’s leg stopped tightening. Mina’s statue stopped moving.

“Power dampeners,” Ramsey said. Four arms shot out of DeVoe’s chair and Barry shouted as they attached to Becky, Mina, Ramsey, and Sylbert’s heads. There was something flowing between them and DeVoe-

“Stop!” Barry shouted. He tried to pry the Boot off his leg, jamming the screwdriver into it just trying to get a lever in. “Stop, please!”

Dominic’s head dropped and Ramsey’s straightened.

“What do you think, Mister Allen?” he asked. That wasn’t him. “This one?”

“DeVoe, please.”

“No,” he said. Ramsey dropped to the floor and Sylbert stood up. “Your friends stopped this one without you. Just proof they don’t need you, I suppose.”

“Please. Please.”

Sylbert dropped and Becky stood up.

“What about this one?” DeVoe asked. “You were getting through to her, weren’t you? Thought you’d made a new friend, Flash?”

“Please,” Barry said. He could feel tears running down his cheeks. “Please, stop.”

“Hands where I can see them!” a man shouted. “What the-”

“Barry!”

“Wally?”

“Leave them alone.” Cisco stepped out a breach next to Barry. He was wearing the red mask Barry had made him, and the ground was shaking.

“Vibe,” the Flash standing with Wally said. “Is this you?” That was Barry’s suit, Barry had seen himself because of time travel before, that was him, that didn’t make any sense-

“Get away from my friend, DeVoe,” Cisco said. His fists were clenched.

“You heard him,” Wally said. “Now, DeVoe.”

“Very well,” DeVoe said. “I got what I came for.”

Becky stepped over to the chair and Wally vanished then reappeared in a blink, just as DeVoe vanished, leaving Sylbert, Ramsey, Dominic, and Mina’s bodies. Barry couldn’t breathe-

The shaking stopped and Cisco ripped the Boot from Barry’s leg.

“Hey, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

“The others-”

“She’s still alive,” the other man said. “So’s Wolfe. Vibe, we need to get them to a hospital.”

“Who are you?” Wally asked.

“Detective August Heart. Vibe, please. There are three dead bodies and several people who need immediate medical attention, there must be something you can do.”

“I can’t,” Barry said. “I can’t go to the hospital, I can’t, I can’t-”

“It’s all right, Barry,” the other him said. “It will be fine.”

“Vibe, open a breach,” Wally said.

“I can’t leave,” Barry said. “I haven’t been found innocent, I haven’t- I haven’t-”

“I’ve got you, Barry,” Wally said. He picked Barry up and Barry noticed his wince. “Flash, help me with everyone.”

* * *

Barry hadn’t moved from the hospital bed yet. The doctors had told him not to, not to touch the I.V., and Caitlin would be cross if she knew he’d taken an I.V. out by himself. One hand was cuffed to the bed with power dampening handcuffs anyway, same as Mina. Cisco had insisted they be put in the same room, and he was still standing guard.

The door opened and General Eiling walked in. The hospital room shook.

“Vibe, I presume,” Eiling said. He held out his hand and Cisco glared. “I’m simply here to take Mister Allen and Professor Chaytan into custody. Clearly Iron Heights isn’t suitable, but I have a secure facility specifically designed for metahumans.”

“Over my dead body,” Cisco said.

“You’re much more useful alive.”

“Barry is innocent. His appeal is in two days, and I know if you take him, when we prove he’s innocent, you won’t let him go. Get out.”

“Mister Allen is a convicted murderer and a metahuman, allegedly a speedster, I will be taking him into custody.”

“You will not!” the man from Iron Heights said. Captain Singh and Captain Frye were behind him, both fuming. “Allen and Chaytan are both witnesses in my investigation and I need to speak with both of them.”

“As I explained to your captain downstairs, Detective Heart, we’ve been looking into Amunet Black for several months now, we’ll take it from here.”

“Certainly,” Frye said. “Heart, out, now-”

“Sir-”

“I have already ordered you off this case twice, Heart, get out or you’re suspended.”

“Actually,” Captain Singh said. “I think we should be glad Detective Heart was there. Barry, have you met August before?”

“No, sir,” Barry said. “Oh, wait, maybe briefly when I first started? He wasn’t a detective then. I didn’t mean to escape, sir, I was going to hand myself back in, it was just Wolfe and Black-”

“Barry, you’re not in trouble.”

“He just confessed to trying to break out of prison, Captain,” Eiling said. “I’d say he is.”

“And he claims to have a good reason and since he has been the only one willing to discuss what happened and Detective Heart, both Flashes, and Vibe have corroborated his story, I’m inclined to believe him. However, due to our personal connection, I have a conflict of interest, as does everyone in my precinct, so I would advise someone else investigate.”

“And I’m having trouble trusting anyone else,” Cisco said. “The mayor got arrested earlier this year and we’ve just found out what the warden of Iron Heights has been doing in his spare time, and I remember what you did to Sergeant Sans Souci and Firestorm too, General, so I’m not inclined to trust anyone right now, Captain.”

“And I want all of you out,” a doctor said from the door. “Those two are my patients and need rest, you can discuss this somewhere else.”

“They’re dangerous,” Eiling said.

“Professor Chaytan is unconscious and I’m surprised Mister Allen isn’t, I doubt they’re an immediate threat, metahumans or not,” the doctor said. “I don’t care if you have a letter from God themself, neither of them are leaving this hospital tonight. Good-bye, gentlemen. That includes you, Vibe.”

“But I-”

“Out, now.”

“I’ll try and find a way for your fathers to visit you tomorrow, Barry,” Captain Singh said. “Rest.”

Cisco was last out, and he left an apologetic look at Barry. The doctor nodded.

“He’s right,” the doctor said. “You need rest, Mister Allen. How is your head?”

“A bit better,” Barry said. “I didn’t hurt anyone.”

“What you did or didn’t do is not currently my concern, my only concern is your health. Try and get some sleep.”

* * *

He’d probably slept when the noise woke him up. It had taken him probably hours of just staring at the ceiling, his arm was uncomfortable, and he could guess from how his cheeks felt that he’d cried at some point. The room was dark, so it was probably still night, but there was a lamp on by Mina’s bed, and she was sitting up and Lisa Snart was sat in the chair next to him.

“Smart,” Lisa said. “I don’t know how your friends did it, but putting you in the same room as both Flashes before giving you a solid alibi when the Flashes are both elsewhere should keep Gem Gossip off your back at least, Barry.”

“Great,” Barry said. “Who told you?”

“Don’t look at me,” Mina said.

“No one,” Lisa said. “I worked it out myself. I’ve suspected for a long time, Iris West-Snow’s best friend, involved in S.T.A.R. Labs, struck by lightning, woke up right before the Flash showed up, until today never seen in the same room as the Flash, and then Reverse Flash who you ditched us to fight-”

“Travelled back in time to kill me when I was eleven then murdered my mother and framed my father when he failed then went on to kill a lot more people and impersonate Harrison Wells for fifteen years?” Barry said. “Should I add in the part when he’s the descendant of my boyfriend who, okay we weren’t dating at the time, shot himself to stop Reverse Flash killing me, died in my arms, got better because of his metahuman powers while Reverse Flash created a Singularity which caused the whole Zoom problem, and is the reason my boyfriend doesn’t want kids which kind of sucks because I always did and I do except Reverse Flash also had a newspaper from the future that says I die in six years?”

“Geez,” Mina said. “Have you considered therapy?”

“I’ve been, more bad stuff just keeps happening, so what’s the point. Anyway. I’m guessing you didn’t break into a hospital just to tell me you know who I am.”

“No,” Lisa said.

“Have you told anyone else?”

“No. I’m sure the other Rogues can work it out if they put their minds to it, but for now it’s just me. You had a deal with Lenny. He keeps your secret; you don’t arrest him.”

“And you want the same one?”

“Please, to arrest me you’d have to catch me.”

“I am quite fast. If you don’t want that, what do you want?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Your friends clearly made sure to minimise how many people found out the truth this evening, it wouldn’t do to have the Flash’s identity getting out after all that, either of them. Besides, you can’t play chess with one person.”

“I didn’t realise this was chess.”

“What did you think it was?”

“I don’t know. Cops and robbers?”

Lisa laughed. “I see why Lenny liked you.”

“He was a hero, Lisa. He’d hate that, but he was. That’s not why he did it though.”

“Then why?”

“Same reason he did everything, I think. For you, and for Mick.”

“I miss him.”

“Yeah. I think I do too. And thank you.”

“For what?”

“Axel said you convinced all the Rogues not to hurt people. Even the Tricksters.”

“Like I said, you’re more fun when you’re not pissed, and what’s the point in being a superhero’s nemesis if you don’t get to have a little fun? Rosa wants Vibe, Axel wants Elongated Man, and I guess since Lenny’s gone, I get to inherit all his stuff. Unless you’d rather have Reverse Flash.”

“I cannot begin to express how much I do not want that,” Barry said. “I suppose this means I’ll see you around, Glider?”

“Not if I see you first, Flash,” Lisa said.

“You’re taking Mina, right?”

“Excuse me?” Mina asked.

“Eiling’s here,” Barry shrugged. “He’s... Well.”

“I got most of the story off Iris earlier, I can explain,” Lisa said. “Did my own nosing too.”

“Ah,” Barry said. “Vibe said my appeal is in two days and I’m guessing that means my friends have something, so all they have to do is stall. I don’t know about you, but I know you’re better off with Lisa and the Rogues than with Eiling or in Iron Heights or with Amunet Black.”

“She won’t touch you if you’re under my protection,” Lisa said. “And I am a very good thief.”

“I don’t think the Flash should be convincing his enemies to team up,” Mina said.

“Guess not,” Barry said. “But the Rogues have a no hurting people policy and that was the only reason we had an issue, and you know my name, it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s used it to blackmail me.”

“I don’t think I need to do that,” Mina said. Lisa unlocked her handcuff. “Thank you, Flash.”

“Just promise me you won’t hurt anyone, at least not without a very good reason.”

“I promise.”

“Sure you don’t want to join?” Lisa asked.

“I think I’m going to go back to sleep, I am so tired, but I guess I should probably tell someone Mina’s checked out? And I don’t know how, or what, but I’m going to do something about the metawing.”

“Give us a head start and I’ll handle that for you,” Lisa said. Barry nodded and shut his eyes. Just a few minutes.

Lisa and Mina were gone when he opened them again and he pressed the buzzer to get someone’s attention. The doctor from earlier walked in.

“Oh, hey,” Barry said. “Shouldn’t you have gone home by now?”

“I did, Mister Allen, and then I came back for my next shift.”

“Oh, I think I actually did fall asleep then. Um. Golden Glider ran off with Mina? And I know what you said but also, it’s Lisa Snart.”

“I think I need to make a phone call.”

* * *

Detective Heart was the first one in his room. Barry nodded.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks,” Barry said. “Just tired still. I genuinely was going to alert someone about Mina and Lisa sooner.”

“You didn’t stop them.”

“I’m handcuffed to a bed,” Barry said, shaking his wrist for good measure. “What was I supposed to do? I tried calling someone, but I fell asleep again because my metabolism is messed up.”

“I have some questions,” Detective Heart said.

“Me too,” Barry said. “Why were you at Iron Heights?”

“Linda Park. I’m currently investigating how Edward Clariss isn’t in Iron Heights, I spoke briefly with Ms Park after seeing her and Mrs West-Snow enter Amunet Black’s base of operations two days ago. I’m sure you’ll read the paper.”

“I haven’t seen a newspaper for three months. Maybe longer, I have no idea what day it is.”

“But you’re friends with Mrs West-Snow, so presumably she mentioned Weeper to you.”

“Yeah, that’s the stuff Caitlin brought some chemical analysis results in for me to have a quick look at and see if I could make sense of. Amunet Black was behind that?”

“By exploiting a metahuman, according to Mrs West-Snow. What do you know about Amunet Black?”

“She went after Caitlin and Dominic Lanse right before I got arrested, and she came into Iron Heights, the Warden showed her around, and she wanted all of us.”

“Have you ever seen this symbol before?” Detective Heart showed Barry two spirals, overlapping.

“No, sorry,” Barry said. “Is that something to do with Amunet Black?”

“I don’t know, but she’s the lead I had. The man I saw Clariss talking to was wearing this symbol, and it was also found at the crime scene of the murder of Officer Jorge Heart.”

“Officer... That’s why Captain Frye said he ordered you off the case, right? You’re investigating his death, and he’s...”

“My brother.” Detective Heart sat down in the chair next to Barry. “I was so sure it was Billy Parks, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d ended up tangled with Jorge, but no one found any evidence, and Parks skipped town. It wasn’t till after his funeral I was going through Jorge’s notebook and found this symbol again. He was investigating something, he mentioned Kyle Nimbus, I found Clariss, I thought solving whatever case he was investigating would lead me to the truth.”

“But he’s your brother, and Captain Frye thinks your conflict of interest is too high,” Barry said. “When I was eleven, my mother was killed, and my father was arrested, despite my protests and me being a witness. It wasn’t till after the Flash showed up my man in the lightning story got believed, and not till after fake Harrison Wells disappeared and got exposed as Reverse Flash my father was released from Iron Heights.”

“I saw. The news didn’t hold back when it came to the employee of C.C.P.D. and son of a convicted murderer, even if that was later found to be false, being accused of murdering someone in his own home. And you refused to speak.”

“I didn’t want to lie,” Barry said.

“And you didn’t want anyone to find out you were a metahuman?”

“The doctor at Iron Heights found out when I collapsed, told the warden, who promptly, well. I’d rather not share any details on that. My point was, I get it. If you, um, I mean, I would offer to look over the forensics for you but it’s probably a bad time, you could try Patty Spivot, she’s nice.”

“Maybe,” Detective Heart said.

The door opened again, and Daniella walked in with someone Barry didn’t recognise in a military uniform.

“Detective Heart,” Daniella said. “What are you doing here?”

“Just checking on Allen,” Detective Heart said. “I saw some disturbing things yesterday. You two are…”

“I’m Officer Kim, this is Officer Adam, we were sent over to keep our eyes on Allen here.”

“Excellent,” Detective Heart said. “Get some more rest, Allen.”

“Thanks,” Barry said. Detective Heart nodded and left. “Hey, Daniella.”

“What is going on, Barry? I got sent here with some army guy-”

“I’m Air Force, actually,” Officer Adam said. “Just temporarily assigned.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Daniella said. “Barry.”

“It’s a lot,” Barry said. “I really wish I could drink. Maybe later?”

“Sure,” Daniella said.

* * *

Daniella and the air force person had switched with other people, then switched again, and Barry had done a lot more sleeping, but no one was telling him what was actually happening. He’d just been asked to make a statement that Lisa Snart had broken in then broken out with Mina. And that Wolfe had wanted to give him and the others to Amunet Black. And he’d been asked about DeVoe too, and he’d said he wasn’t comfortable discussing exactly what his powers were which they accepted so they didn’t ask him about being the Flash and since him being the Flash wasn’t at all relevant, it wasn’t like he was lying. Two Flashes really had shown up, though Barry was still confused about that and Captain Singh hadn’t explained, and Captain Singh was the only one he’d seen so far.

Except.

Except they were unlocking his wrist and giving him his clothes back, the ones he’d been wearing before being escorted to Iron Heights, and he was still really confused about what was going on and he couldn’t breathe, he had no idea if this was Eiling, or Wolfe, or one of Amunet Black’s people, what if, what if-

His dad and Eddie were waiting by reception and Barry collapsed onto him and buried his face in his dad’s shoulder.

“I’ve got you, Slugger.”

Barry could hear talking- Eddie and a doctor- but all he could focus on was his dad’s arms around him, rubbing his back gently.

“Come on, Barry, let’s get you home,” he said quietly.

“Maybe S.T.A.R. Labs,” Eddie said. Barry pulled himself away from his dad to pull Eddie into a kiss.

“Home,” he said. “I want to go home.”

* * *

They went to Joe’s. All of Team Labs was there, his whole family, and the Steins, Jesse and Harry, and everyone was so happy…

Barry felt a little bad he mostly felt like he was faking it.

He was home. He was home, he was free, he didn’t have to go back, everything should be fine now.

Going to the kitchen under the presence he needed a drink at least gave him a chance to let his smile slip.

“Barry?” Joe asked. “You okay, son?”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired. Um. I guess I can’t go home home.”

“It’s not a crime scene anymore, it’s there if you want it,” Joe said. He looked at Barry. “But Eddie’s been staying with Henry. Or I can get some sheets for your room upstairs.”

“No, I’ll go with Dad, it’s fine,” Barry said. “It’s fine. You and Cecile are busy right now. I’ll go with Dad.”

“I’ll put some sheets out anyway, just in case you change your mind.”

“Thanks, Joe. I’m sorry, I’m just tired.”

“I know. I’ll tell everyone you need rest.”

* * *

He couldn’t sleep. Eddie was curled up around him and Barry felt so guilty it didn’t seem to change anything, but he was just…

He needed fresh air. He wanted to run, but his Speed wasn’t strong enough. He’d already promised Caitlin he’d go to S.T.A.R. Labs first thing in the morning. Right now, he just needed fresh air.

He slipped out of bed and Eddie shifted.

“Barry,” he murmured. “Where are you going?”

“Just for a walk.”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“I know.”

Eddie sat up and looked at him. Barry plastered a smile over his face, but Eddie still looked concerned.

“A walk to where?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But I need a walk and there’s no rules against it, unless-”

“Let me get dressed,” Eddie said. “I’ll come with you.”

“It’s the middle of the night. And it’s cold.”

“I know.” Eddie slid out of bed and grabbed some trousers and a shirt. He slipped his hand into Barry’s. “I’ll leave a note for Henry in case he wakes up.”

Barry nodded.

* * *

It was cold. Freezing. But the sky was perfectly clear, and all the stars shone above them.

“What’s that one?” Eddie asked.

“Polaris,” Barry said. “The North Star. You know that.”

“I like hearing you talk about them though. They’re beautiful.”

“Yes. My mother loved the stars. She let me stay up late one night and took me out with her telescope so we could see the Perseids meteor shower. She used to tell me she’d take me to see the Northern Lights one day. There were a lot of things we never did.”

“You know you don’t have to be okay.”

“You got me out of prison. Iris and Linda exposed Wolfe and Black, and you exposed DeVoe, and I’m home. I have missed you so much, and I am so glad I’m home. I’ll be fine.”

“I know. But sometimes these things take time.”

“I took your home-”

“My home is with you. DeVoe took that apartment from us, but we can find somewhere bigger. Somewhere big enough for all three of us. Maybe even buy somewhere instead of renting. Maybe even a little house, or a balcony at least, somewhere we can grow flowers and lettuce for McSnurtle.”

“That sounds nice,” Barry said. “Somewhere we can grow lettuce for McSnurtle.”

* * *

Caitlin had checked him over early. His metabolism was still slow, but she was sure a few days eating properly would get him back up to Speed, and she’d check him over again then just to be sure.

Eddie drove them to C.C.P.D. And everyone was whispering when he walked in. Hamish Doyle and Will Gibbons both clapped him on the shoulder, but some other people looked angry with him.

Captain Singh waved him over and Barry went to sit in his office.

“It’s good to see you safe, Barry,” he said.

“Thank you, sir.”

“This is a complicated situation. General Eiling is refusing to compromise, though your friends managed to get Director Michaels of A.R.G.U.S. involved. Which means what happened at Iron Heights is classified. On the one hand, this means no one will find out you were in the metawing. On the other hand, DeVoe’s survival isn’t public. Everything was stalled long enough it could be used as evidence in your appeal, and Team Labs certainly found a lot of evidence, and Mina Chaytan left a statement behind, not mentioning you’re the Flash but very clearly explaining the DeVoe situation, but I’ve had a call from the mayor this morning and she feels accepting you back would result in bad publicity. A lot of people suspect metahuman involvement-”

“And people don’t like or trust metahumans, to the extent none of us have noticed what Wolfe and Black have been doing for the last three years?” Barry asked. “And if it were to get out I’m a metahuman everyone would be even more convinced I’m guilty?”

“Yes. She’s requested I place you on indefinite suspension. I will continue to fight this, Barry. You’ll get your job back, if you want it.”

“I understand,” Barry said. “I probably need some time anyway. I’ll just... I want to thank you, Captain, for giving me a chance before. This job has meant a lot to me.”

“I am sorry, Barry. I also spoke with Detective Heart this morning. He wanted me to pass on his best wishes. And, while perhaps investigating Amunet Black and Warden Wolfe’s dealings may cause issues, she has other business, and Detective Heart has offered to take on the DeVoe case. Eddie or Joe investigating could be seen as a conflict of interest, despite Joe taking the majority of metahuman cases in this city, but it has been a while since Joe has had a permanent partner if Detective Heart does choose to fill out his transfer paperwork.”

“He seems nice,” Barry said. “I like him. He’ll be good at this.”

“I’m glad you think so. And don’t give up yet. You’re a good man, people will remember that, and I’ll make sure of it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Barry stood up. Everyone was going about their day and he was supposed to be going about his day, but DeVoe had taken that from him too now.

“Hey,” Eddie said. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to go.”

“Do you need me to take you home?”

“No, no, I’ll get the bus. I might go to S.T.A.R. Labs. I’ll see you this evening.”

“All right,” Eddie said. He kissed Barry’s cheek and Barry went out the back way.

Usually when he was in this alley he’d run. Not today though.

There were a few people he should probably visit. He could borrow an extrapolator.

* * *

Barry hadn’t actually been to Earth-2 Barry and Iris’ before. It was cosy. It was a little weird walking into Joe’s and not seeing Joe’s things and seeing all these photographs he didn’t recognise with people he did, but other Barry, Barry-2, just smiled and showed him in.

“We would have stayed for the celebration,” Iris said.

“I left early too,” Barry said. “I’m just here to thank you both. Jesse said it was you in my costume.”

“Cisco’s idea,” Barry-2 said. “There was a metahuman who could take powers and give them to someone else.”

“I think it helped. And you helped save me and Mina Chaytan.”

“I think I’ll leave running fast to you, it was terrifying. And Cisco had an idea for letting people know about other worlds and using that as an excuse for why you disappeared for a while and why your Iris was a speedster?”

“I don’t know if it worked, I haven’t looked at the news, but Iris says Spencer Young would definitely publish something after overhearing that. Thank you.”

“You saved our world,” Barry-2 said. “It was the least we could do.”

“We’re both glad you’re free,” Iris said. “Do you have plans?”

“I’m on indefinite suspension from work,” Barry said. “I guess we have to stop DeVoe. I was right there and I know it’s because he wanted me to watch so he could hurt me, but there was Dominic too, he’s only targeted the bus metas. Ralph’s a bus meta.”

“If you ever need us, you know where to find us.”

“Thank you.”

“And talk to someone.” Iris smiled. “You share a face with my husband, I know every part of it.”

“I should go,” Barry said. “There is one person who deserves an explanation. Thank you both.”

* * *

Hannah just nodded at him when she opened the door.

“You got out of prison.”

“Yes,” Barry said. “And I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now, but I, err, did you talk to Hartley?”

“If it’s that important and you actually wanted me to know, you would have told me yourself.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Barry said. “To explain. Can I come in?”

“No.”

“It’s not something I really want to talk about on your doorstep where someone might hear.”

“Jerrie’s here.”

“I think Jerrie already knows.”

“Fine,” Hannah said. She opened the door and Barry stepped inside. “Go on.”

“I’m the Flash.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am. Honest. The first one. My friends they, well there’s a multiverse and we’re friends with Barry from Earth-2, so he pretended to be me the other day. You remember when I got struck by lightning the same day as the particle accelerator? The lightning was because of the particle accelerator. And I can’t show you right now because my metabolism’s still recovering from not eating enough while in prison, but I can explain everything.”

“Everything.”

“Right from the beginning. You remember how Harrison Wells was a fraud? Well, his real name, the man we thought was Wells, was Eobard Thawne and he was the Reverse Flash, a speedster from the future who travelled back in time.”

* * *

Barry was rolling pastry when his dad’s door unlocked, and Iris walked in. He smiled.

“Eddie lent me his key,” she said. “He told me about the suspension, Bare.”

“Captain Singh’s working on it. I went to see Hannah earlier. Told her everything.”

“That’s good.”

“I think DeVoe wants the bus metas. Ralph’s a bus meta.”

“I’ll warn them. You’re not coming to S.T.A.R. tonight.”

“I...”

“Barry. You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I can’t run. It’ll come back and I can feel the Speed Force, before in the metawing I couldn’t, but I can’t run. And I couldn’t save them.”

“I know. I wish I could help.”

“You did. Your article exposed at least part of what Amunet Black’s been doing.”

“It nearly didn’t get published. Eiling didn’t want it to be. I handed in my notice to try and distance it a little from Picture News. So did Linda. And Scott brought up that the Citizen is for sale. I don’t know. Right now, Francis Auerbach owns both the Central and Keystone Times, the Citizen, Keystone Gazette, KN News, and Gem Gossip, and he probably has stock in other papers too. The only reason he’s selling off the name is because the paper went bust and it’s not making him money. Hartley’s parents are even rumoured to be looking into it, though I’m not sure if Scott really knows that or if he was just giving us a reason why we should look first.”

“You’d run a good newspaper.”

“The only reason Picture News gets away with stuff like Linda exposing abusive football players and directly defying a military general is we’re an offshoot of the main Picture News brand which is predominantly owned by the Waynes and I’m pretty sure Bruce Wayne has never been to Central in his life, he probably doesn’t even read our paper and the Gotham branch is constantly dealing with far worse with all their corruption in every single part of Gotham.”

“I see why Joe never let us go. But you’d be fair. And if Eiling does try anything, you know I’ll be there in a flash.”

“The newspaper in the Time Vault was the Citizen, Barry.”

“I know.”

“I thought them going out of business would mean it would never be published, that if I never work for them I can’t write that article, but it’s like…”

“Time wants to happen. That’s what Rip says. Don’t turn down this opportunity just because of me. There’s so much good you could do. Someone needs to stop Amunet Black, and there’s only one person I know who’s stood up to General Eiling more than once. If you want this, you know I will support you. There will be other ways to change the future.”

“I’ll talk to Linda about it. It is a failing newspaper and I’m not exactly a well-known reporter.”

“You’re not? But Gem Gossip published that whole article on how you’re having an affair with the Flash and that’s how you get all your information when we all know it’s the other way around and there wouldn’t be a Flash without you.”

“And you are my best friend and I don’t want to lose you again.”

“I’ll do my best. You want to stay for dinner? I’m making Great-Granddad Patrick’s fish pie. There should be plenty for you and Caitlin if she wants too.”

“That sounds nice, Bare.”


	13. Cat and Fiddle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case, there is a brief mention of not quite suicidal but close enough to worry people thoughts in this chapter while a few characters are drunk.

Dropping into S.T.A.R. Labs most mornings was something Ralph had gotten used to. It wasn’t as if his P.I. business was especially popular, he had time.

He’d especially got used to it when Barry and Iris had floated the theory DeVoe was targeting bus metas and they’d all decided on a buddy system where someone would stay at Ralph’s all night, and he wouldn’t be left on his own during the day either. It hadn’t exactly been the first time someone had decided they meant Ralph harm- ex-mayor Bellows had only been a few months ago- but usually they were slightly less competent than the guy who had already successfully killed five people that they knew of (assuming DeVoe had killed the bus driver too which Ralph was certain he had) and framed Barry for his own murder. 

Ralph was rather nervous. Sure, he was Elongated Man now, and he was friends with both Flashes, Vibe, Pied Piper, Frost, and the Black Canary, but DeVoe had already successfully kidnapped Barry once and got him stuck in Iron Heights for months, and his powers weren’t back to full strength yet.

And there were twelve bus metas. DeVoe had killed Dominic Lanse, Ramsey Deacon, Sylbert Rundine, and Becky Sharpe. Matthew Kim was in Fawcett City keeping his head down visiting family. Mortimer Gloom had apparently left Central after everything and he’d actually answered Iris’ warning about DeVoe, so hopefully he’d be all right. Barry was sure Mina Chaytan would be safe with the Rogues. Neil Borman was with Tracy Brand, whoever that was, but the others thought he’d be safe, at least for now. That left another three, and Ralph didn’t remember exactly who was on the bus. And Cisco couldn’t just vibe it with all the dark matter.

But he was a private investigator. He had had to look for people before, and he did have an idea.

* * *

“A CD,” Cisco said. “Do people still carry CDs around with them?”

“They do when they’re hoping to give them to someone,” Linda said. She put the CD into the slot and pressed play. Country music started playing and Ralph tried not to make a face.

“It’s not bad,” Laurel said.

“It says Izzy Bowin on the case,” Barry said. “She’ll have some sort of social media.”

“Here, look,” Hartley said. “She’s even got a list of gigs, and today she’s due at the Busted Saddle.”

“All right,” Barry said. “Come on, Ralph.”

“Why am I going?” Ralph asked. “I don’t like country music.”

“Because as the unemployed one, I am your daytime buddy, remember?” Barry said. He shifted uncomfortably. “Come on, if you were both on the bus maybe she remembers you?”

* * *

Ralph did not like country music. Izzy Bowin seemed good though. And Barry seemed to enjoy it.

She was by the bar after her show.

“Ms Bowin?” Barry asked. “I’m Barry Allen with C.C.- I’m-”

“You’re with who?” Ms Bowin asked.

“He’s with me,” Ralph said. “Ralph Dibny, private investigator.”

“What’s a P.I. doing asking for me?”

“Right,” Barry said. “Ms Bowin, you’re in danger.”

“In danger,” Ms Bowin repeated. “How’d you figure?”

“You were on the 405 bus back in October the day it nearly ran into a wormhole,” Ralph said. He held up Ms Bowin’s CD. “We found this in the lost and found.”

“So what if I was?”

“Everyone on that bus got powers,” Barry said. “And now there’s someone very dangerous looking for all of you to take those powers.”

“And you two are going to protect me.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think so,” Ms Bowin said. “I’ve been taking care of myself a long time, the two of you aren’t going to change that.”

“Please,” Barry said. “If you just come with us, somewhere we can explain-”

“No thanks, Lanky,” Ms Bowin said, and a blast of sound hit them both. Ralph and Barry both flew backwards, and when Ralph blinked a few times and sat up, Ms Bowin was gone.

“We know what her power is,” Ralph said.

Barry said something back, but Ralph’s ears were ringing too much to actually hear.

“What?”

Barry was still rubbing his ears. He pulled Ralph outside, then flashed them back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

* * *

Caitlin had run several tests.

“It’s good the two of you went,” Caitlin said. “Barry, your ears should heal, and Ralph, yours just stretched.”

“They feel fine now,” Ralph said.

“Lucky,” Barry said. “Mine are still ringing, it sounds like there’s a microwave in my head.” Barry rubbed his ears again.

“I get that,” Hartley said. “It’s called tinnitus. Try listening to some music.”

“I love you,” Barry said. His hands moved too. Oh, sign, he was signing, that would have helped earlier.

“It will pass,” Caitlin said. “It looked like tiny pieces of shrapnel ripped through your ear drum.”

“She was harnessing sound waves,” Lily said. “Sound is the vibration of particles, vibrate them enough, well-”

“You end up with Hartley’s gloves or Laurel’s Canary Cry,” Cisco said. “You’d probably be most suited to train her, if we can persuade her to let us help.”

“Your powers are vibrations, Cisco,” Hartley said.

“Oh yeah.”

“You’re literally called Vibe, dude,” Wally said.

“Yeah, but my powers get complicated,” Cisco said. “And we need to find her first.”

“You did already find her website,” Ralph said.

* * *

Ms Bowin had already finished her gig at Saloon Sounds and was putting her fiddle in her car when they arrived- as Flash, Elongated Man, and Vibe this time. Just in case.

“Flash,” Ms Bowin said. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” Barry said. “Ms Bowin, your life is in danger.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“And you’ll hear it again until you listen. Please, we’re on your side.”

“My side? No one’s ever on my side, Flash.”

“I’d listen to them if I were you,” Becky Sharpe said. Barry stiffened beside Ralph. “Hello again, Flash.”

“DeVoe,” Barry said.

“That’s who you wanted to warn me about?” Ms Bowin asked. “That tiny girl?”

“Trust me,” Barry said. “He’s a lot more dangerous than he looks.”

“Good to see you finally learning, Flash,” DeVoe said. “But you still haven’t learnt that, however smart you think you are, you are not enough to stop me.”

“Yes,” Cisco said. “We are, actually.” The ground shook.

“That trick won’t work again, Vibe,” DeVoe said. “There’s five of me now.”

DeVoe threw something and Barry tried to shove Cisco out the way of the now full-sized car, but he went skidding off in a different direction, clutching his head.

“Today’s lesson is going to be a little different, Flash,” DeVoe said. “Have you ever heard of a brain aneurysm?”

“You’re not getting Izzy,” Ralph said. He stretched to throw a punch, right as Cisco threw a vibe blast out with his free left hand, but at the angle he was at, it hit Ralph and threw him back instead.

“Oh, bad luck,” DeVoe said. He stepped towards Ms Bowin.

“You stay away from me,” she said, and threw out another blast of soundwaves, like she’d done to Barry and Ralph before. DeVoe flew back, and Barry flashed them away. He was still clutching his head, and he looked pale, and Cisco was sitting down.

“You hurt DeVoe,” Barry said. “You hurt him.”

“Flash, what is going on?”

“Can we please explain back at S.T.A.R. Labs?” Cisco asked. “A whole car landed on me and, once again, I do not have a healing factor.”

* * *

Hartley and Caitlin both fussed Cisco and his broken ribs while Barry, Lily, Linda, Iris, Wally, and Ralph explained everything to Ms Bowin.

“That tiny chick wants my body,” Ms Bowin said.

“Yes,” Barry said. “And he won’t stop until he gets it.”

“I haven’t had my powers that long,” Ms Bowin said. “And they’ve connected me to my music in a way I can’t even begin to explain-”

“Try us,” Wally said. “Flash and I get that too, and Vibe is connected to the entire multiverse.”

“Multiverse?”

“There’s other Earths,” Linda said. “Look, Ms Bowin, it’s a lot to take in, I know, I get it. We all get it. My doppelganger from Earth-2 was trying to kill me, Flash protected me, and when he asked for my help, I was scared too, but he didn’t let Zoom hurt me.”

“And when Zoom kidnapped me Flash gave up his speed to save me,” Wally said. “That was before I became Kid Flash. He gave up everything for me, and he almost died getting it back because the city needed him.”

“My dad was missing after the particle accelerator,” Lily said. “This was before Flash. These people, they had no powers, but they got me my dad back, despite how weird it all was, he was fused with their friend and confused and, he’s half of Firestorm, anyway, if it wasn’t for these people, I wouldn’t have a dad.”

“I was on the same bus you were,” Ralph said. “Flash found me because Mayor Bellows had people trying to kill me, and he gave me a chance to train, to use my powers to help people.”

“I get it,” Barry said. He pulled down his cowl.

“You’re that guy from earlier,” Izzy said.

“Yeah.”

“How could you possibly get it? You’re the Flash.”

“My name’s Barry Allen, like I said, I’m a C.S.I. Was, I guess, it’s, I got struck by lightning the day the particle accelerator blew up. I was in a coma for nine months, and when I woke up there were people with superpowers. I had superpowers, the same as the one the man who killed my mother and framed my father had, everything was different, my best friend had new friends and they’d broken into a military base-”

“To save my dad,” Lily said.

“-and there were people I wasn’t fast enough to save. And then the man who murdered my mother came back, he said he’d been there to kill me, he hated me, he was from the future, and we found out he was pretending to be Harrison Wells who was a mentor, someone we cared about. He still comes back sometimes from wherever he is in his timeline with the goal of killing me one day.”

“What about you?” Izzy asked. “How’d you get involved in this?”

“Barry’s my best friend,” Iris said. “Are we counting you meeting Green Arrow as day one?”

“No, we’re counting Eobard Thawne blowing up the accelerator so he could turn me into the Flash so he could go back to the future then try to murder me again later as day one,” Barry said. “Even if we were, you were dating Caitlin and knew S.T.A.R. Labs people before I went to Starling, also, you distracted Joe long enough for me to run off to Starling.”

“So, I have been here since day one,” Iris said. “But there was a guy last year who was going to kill me, Barry saw when he ran to the future. And they spent months trying to change it, they saved my life.”

“I’m not a hero,” Izzy said. “I’m not running from a fight, but I’m not a hero.”

“We’re not asking you to be,” Linda said.

“Your powers are the first thing we’ve found that has managed to hurt DeVoe,” Barry said.

“But we are not asking you to be a hero,” Linda stressed. “Just let us help protect you. Train you to use your powers. You can decide what to do with them.”

“Fine,” Izzy said.

* * *

Hartley was the one who handed Izzy the fiddle.

“It’s a focus,” he said.

“Like your flute?”

“I have been considering making some adaptions, but no, that’s just a fashion choice, I actually don’t have powers, it’s my gauntlets,” Hartley said. “They work in a similar way to how your powers work, but not as strong.”

“So you could hurt DeVoe.”

“I could, but one of the people whose powers he stole can manipulate technology, so he’ll interfere with my gloves.” Hartely scowled. “And I bet he’d screw around with my hearing aids too; he already broke one set when he sent the Samaroid. Even Zoom never touched my hearing aids, he just didn’t take his mask off.”

“Flute’s an interesting fashion choice.”

“I am the Pied Piper.” Hartley bowed with a flourish. “It’s a hang over from that time I hung around with Leonard Snart, you can’t do that and not pick up on his flair for the dramatic.”

“I thought you were the Pied Piper because you have ten rats,” Ralph said. He took his mask off and Izzy nodded in recognition.

“I was the Pied Piper long before I found Moon,” Hartley said. “I just like rats. I’m sure Cisco would be better at this, Barry.”

“You just have to connect to your powers,” Wally said. “You said they connected you to your music, focus on your music, find the vibrations and vibrate with them.”

“And try and hit me,” Ralph said.

“You’re volunteering as my target?”

“I don’t break as easily as anything else in here.”

“All right then,” Izzy said. “Last chance to back out, Stretch.”

* * *

Izzy had started missing all her shots. Ralph was exhausted, he could only imagine how Izzy felt. And she had hit most of Barry’s moving targets, but one had caught her arm.

“Barry,” Iris said. “Can I talk to you outside?”

“I’m sorry, Izzy, I-”

“Now, Barry,” Iris said. He nodded and followed her, and Ralph took Izzy up to Caitlin. Cisco was still lying on the bed, but Eddie was next to him now.

“Um,” Izzy said.

“Oh,” Eddie said. “Here.” He brushed a thumb over Izzy’s arm and the cut healed.

“Thanks. Who are you?”

“Eddie Thawne.”

“Barry’s boyfriend,” Ralph said. “He’s a good guy.”

“Yeah, well, your boyfriend’s kind of an ass,” Izzy said. Eddie sighed.

“Go on,” Cisco said. “I’ll be fine. DeVoe is not about to burst through that door.”

“Iris is talking to him,” Ralph said.

“Still,” Cisco said. Eddie nodded and headed downstairs. “So. How’s it going?”

“Yeah, this really isn’t for me,” Izzy said. She walked out.

“Do I just follow her to try and talk?” Ralph asked.

“Yes,” Caitlin said. Ralph nodded and rushed out too.

“Izzy, wait!” She’d already pressed the button for the elevator. “Look, Barry’s pushing hard.”

“Here to make excuses, Stretch? He forget the rest of the world don’t work at superspeed often or something?”

“Maybe,” Ralph said. “The first time DeVoe switched bodies he left his original one in Barry’s home and framed him for murder. That’s why he was in the prison, unable to access his speed, when DeVoe stole three more bodies, almost a fourth, right in front of him. He’s not okay right now. I’m not trying to make excuses or say he doesn’t owe you an apology, he does, but that’s why he’s acting like this. He just doesn’t want to lose anyone else.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I’d like to. And these guys, that doesn’t matter to them. They care about everyone in this city, even the ones who’d see them dead. They’re a bit weird,” Ralph said, and Izzy laughed. “If you stay, they will grow to care about you, and you can’t help but care about them.”

“You’re sweet, Stretch,” Izzy said. “But I can handle myself.”

“That’s what I thought before they saved me. Thing is, Izzy, it’s not about whether you can handle yourself or not. You don’t have to. Sure, you’re capable, you’re pretty great, but having someone in your corner, being part of a team, it feels good.”

“I’m not looking for a team,” Izzy said. “I’m recording an album. I have gigs lined up for the next few months and, sure, they’re just bars, but I’m getting there. I did that myself. No pint-sized chick is taking that from me, whoever they really are. Sorry, Ralphie. I hurt this DeVoe on my own, I’ll do it again without your help.”

“Izzy, wait-”

She whistled and Ralph flew backwards.

* * *

His head hurt. Izzy-

“Easy,” Henry said. He helped Ralph up slowly. “Powers or not, you need to get checked for a concussion before you go anywhere.”

“Did you see Izzy?”

“The lady with the violin who was leaving when I came in? I take it that means you can’t have been unconscious long, that’s good. Any ringing in your ears?”

“No,” Ralph said.

“Nausea? Drowsiness?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good. Let’s go and see if Caitlin has a light to check your eyes.”

Henry insisted on helping Ralph to the Cortex, even if Ralph was sure he could walk and it was right there. Iris and Eddie must have still been talking to Barry, but Linda, Wally, Hartley, and Lily were in the Cortex, and Caitlin was in the door to her lab presumably keeping an eye on Cisco.

“Hi, Henry,” Linda said. “Where’s Izzy?”

“Gone,” Ralph said. “She managed to knock me out.”

“Come and sit down,” Caitlin said. “I’m sure we can find her.”

* * *

Joe and Laurel had arrived and there was still no sign of Izzy. Iris and Eddie had pulled Barry back into the Cortex, and he seemed quiet.

“Give me the CD,” Cisco said from the door to Caitlin’s lab.

“Get back in bed right now!” Caitlin said.

“I can still vibe, Caitlin.”

“Here,” Ralph said. He passed the CD to Cisco and he zoned out.

And then flew back across the room.

“Cisco!” Hartley dove after him.

“Lawrence Hills,” Cisco groaned. “DeVoe’s there. Really, really wish I had a healing factor.”

Cisco flopped back.

“You guys go,” Caitlin said. “I’ll take care of Cisco.”

“I’m not leaving him,” Hartley said.

“We’ve got this,” Wally said. “Barry, come on, I’ll carry Laurel, you carry Ralph.”

* * *

DeVoe was right in front of Izzy, but he went flying as Wally ran in and punched him. Barry skidded to a stop in front of Izzy.

“Ralph,” Izzy said. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you,” Ralph said. “We really do care. We’re not bailing on you, Izzy.”

“I am sorry,” Barry said. Wally and Laurel stood next to him, and DeVoe was getting up, wiping blood from his nose. “You’re not getting her, DeVoe.”

“Did you really not learn from earlier, Mister Allen?” DeVoe said. “You cannot stop me.”

“That’s what Eobard Thawne said, we stopped him,” Wally said. “That’s what Hunter Zoloman said, we stopped him too.”

“They weren’t as smart as me.”

“That’s what Grodd thinks too, we’ve stopped him more than once. Hey, DeVoe, try and read my mind.”

“What?”

“Go on,” Wally said. “Bet you can’t. You don’t know what I’m thinking, so you don’t know what I’m going to do next.”

DeVoe aimed one of Rundine’s shrink rays at Wally, and Wally easily dodged it then aimed a bolt of lightning at DeVoe’s chair. It bounced off.

“As if I wouldn’t think of that, Mister West,” DeVoe laughed.

“Izzy, run,” Barry said. “We’ll distract him.”

Izzy nodded, then took off. Laurel activated her Canary Cry, and then it turned purple and shattered.

“Thank you, Mister Deacon.”

DeVoe threw another car that grew as he threw it at them, and Ralph pushed Laurel out the way, only to get squished underneath.

“Really,” DeVoe said. “The same trick works twice in the same day.”

Barry rushed at DeVoe, and he vanished. Barry skidded to a stop.

“I don’t-”

Izzy was at the end of the alley. DeVoe was blocking her exit, now in his floating chair. Ralph stretched to try and reach her, but something was blocking him. Izzy banged on the invisible wall.

“Ralph.”

“It’s okay,” Ralph said. “We’ll figure this out. Flash, you can phase.”

“No,” Barry said. He flickered. “That’s a forcefield, we can’t phase through forcefields, and there’s no way in.”

“Allen, get her out!”

“I can’t,” Barry said. “I can’t, it’s how he trapped me before, it’s how we caught Thawne, I can’t.”

“Izzy,” Ralph said. “Izzy, look at me. Keep looking at me, we’ll find a way to save you.”

Something from DeVoe’s chair attached itself to Izzy’s head.

“Everything will be okay, Izzy,” Laurel said. “Everything will be okay.”

Izzy straightened and the arm thing retracted again.

“Quite right, Ms Lance,” DeVoe said. “Don’t worry, Mister Dibny, I’m going to be busy with my wife for a while, but you’ll join Ms Bowin soon enough.”

He walked back to his chair, pressed something, and vanished, taking Becky Sharpe’s body too.

“You pushed too hard,” Ralph said. “You pushed her too hard, Allen.”

“Ralph,” Laurel said.

“Tell Cisco I hope he feels better soon. I’m going back to my office.”

* * *

He really shouldn’t have been surprised when Barry showed up.

“I’m sorry,” Barry said.

“It’s not me you owe that apology to,” Ralph said.

“I know. I pushed too hard. If I’d been just that little bit faster, I could have got there, but I’m not fast enough.”

“I shouldn’t have just blamed you,” Ralph said. “We were all there. Izzy deserved better.”

“Yeah. She did. They all did. Erm. Cisco figured out DeVoe’s been going into a pocket dimension? He’s going to look into it some more, but we will stop him, Ralph. I promise you that.”

“I dare say I believe you.” Ralph’s door shut again.

“Rip?” Barry asked. A breach opened and Cisco and Wally jumped in, suited up.

“Oh, it’s just Rip,” Cisco said. “Wait, didn’t the Legends say you were in prison?”

“Temporarily,” Rip, whoever he was, said.

“Yeah, prison sucks,” Barry said. “Ralph, this is Captain Rip Hunter, he’s a time traveller but a nice one, Rip, I have no idea if you already know him or not, but this is Ralph.”

“Are the Legends in trouble?” Wally asked.

“The whole universe is,” Rip said.

“Our speciality,” Cisco said. “But we’re kind of dealing with something right now and we will be dealing with a lot more when Caitlin and Hartley find out I got out of bed, but I detected something and thought it might be DeVoe.”

“I’m not,” Rip said. “I’m sure the Legends will figure it out, but perhaps you can spare a few moments, Mister West?”

“Me?” Wally asked. “I guess if no one minds, it might be fun to hang out with Jax for a while, and Zari seemed cool when she dropped in, but we might have to watch out for Time Wraiths.”

“Excellent,” Rip said. “I think I need a drink first.”

“Yeah,” Ralph said. “That sounds good.”

* * *

Ralph had no idea if Cisco had actually given Barry and Wally rocket fuel or if that was just what he was calling it, but he was slightly concerned. Concerned enough he’d sent a message to Joe. He was hoping it was him that was calling Barry, but Barry answered on speaker somehow and that wasn’t Joe’s voice.

“Yo, Ollie, my man,” Barry said.

“Flash, I need to get somewhere very fast to stop a man with a bomb.”

“I can run very fast.”

Barry vanished, without his phone.

“That’s what I was hoping,” Oliver Queen said.

“I am so fast,” Barry’s voice came from the other end of the phone line. “Cisco, how fast can I run?”

“Dude, like fast as f-”

“Are you drunk?” Oliver asked.

“I’m tipsy,” Barry said. “Cisco, I lost my phone.”

“You left it at Ralph’s!” Cisco shouted. “Where did you go? You didn’t finish singing with me!”

“I’ll go find him,” Wally said. Ralph pulled him back down again.

“I’m sure Barry will be fine,” Ralph said. Barry skidded back in. “See?”

“Dude,” Barry said. “Dude, I ran so fast.”

“Woah,” Cisco said. “Awesome.”

“Hey, look, my phone!” Barry said. Oliver had clearly hung up again. “We can sing again!”

“No, it’s my go,” Wally said. “Rip and I will thrash you at karaoke.”

“Bring it.”

* * *

Ralph was so glad when he opened his door and found Joe, Iris, Caitlin, and Lily.

“Why are Rip and Wally singing Careless Whisper?” Caitlin asked.

“Cisco and Barry already sang You’re My Best Friend,” Ralph said. “And Barry keeps crying about food, please help me.” 

“Right,” Joe said. “Wally, Barry. Can you please explain why both Ralph and Oliver called me to tell me the two of you are drunk?”

“Because we’re drunk,” Wally said. “Look, Rip’s here!”

“I can see that.”

“He’s drunk too. So’s Cisco.”

“Yes,” Caitlin said. “Cisco who is supposed to be in bed resting and who has taken painkillers today decided alcohol was a good idea. Do you want to explain that, Cisco?”

“Everyone wanted to drink?” Cisco asked. “They were all sad. Ralph’s sad about Izzy and Rip’s sad about Miranda and Barry’s just sad.”

“I miss her so much,” Rip said. “It’s all my fault, my baby boy.”

“It’s not,” Barry said. “It’s probably my fault. Everything’s my fault. DeVoe killed a lot of people and they were there because of me and I was too slow, and I was too slow today, and I was too slow to save most people.”

“Okay,” Iris said. “Barry. You know that’s not true.”

“Yeah, it is,” Barry said. “I’m slow. Barry the slow-poke, always late because he’s too slow, no one wants him on their team in P.E., he’s a weirdo and too slow.”

“How much have you had to drink? Because I thought you couldn’t get drunk.”

“Cisco gave me rocket fuel. It tastes really bad and my eyes keep going funny, is that normal?”

“And what’s in rocket fuel, Cisco?” Caitlin asked.

“Vodka,” Cisco said. “So much vodka. Maybe tequila? Possibly some actual rocket fuel. I don’t remember, I don’t do chemistry, that’s Barry and you, I just threw stuff in and Barry drank it.”

“You just drank it,” Lily said. “Cisco just threw some stuff in a glass, presumably while already drunk, and you who at the time were sober just drank it.”

“I did?” Barry asked. “Wally stole Rip’s coat and neuralised Warden Wolfe.”

“What?”

“Rip has a flashy thing like Men in Black and we made Wolfe forget that Barry’s the Flash,” Wally said. “Barry keeps crying because he thinks he should be dead instead.”

“Wally broke into Iron Heights.”

“Barry started it!”

“Stop arguing,” Joe said. “Barry, go with Iris, we are not having this conversation while you’re drunk. What is the first thing you’re going to do when you wake up?”

“Vomit.”

“Probably. After that?”

“Call Captain Singh and tell him I can’t come into work tomorrow because everyone thinks I’m a bad person and I lost my job?”

“I don’t think you need to call him to tell him you’ve been temporarily suspended, Barry,” Iris said. “Why don’t we go to S.T.A.R. Labs, your dad’s there, we need to trick Cisco into going back and getting back into bed.”

“I can trick him,” Barry said. “Hey, Cisco, want to go to S.T.A.R. Labs with me?”

“Yes,” Cisco said.

“Great work, Bare,” Iris said. She helped Barry and Cisco stagger out.

“I need another-”

“Rip, put it down,” Lily said. “Why don’t you come with me, Dad will want to see you.”

“They turned me over to the Time Bureau.”

“Dad’s not with the Legends right now, and I think you should talk to Laurel?”

“Perhaps you’re right.”

“Lily always is,” Wally said. “Dad, I have to help Rip save the universe.”

“In the morning,” Joe said. “You need to sleep this off first.”

“Yep. I’m grounded. Bye, Ralph!”

Joe rolled his eyes but wrapped an arm around Wally and guided him out while Lily took Rip. Caitlin nodded.

“Eventful night?”

“Apparently,” Ralph said. “Kind of thought I was going to be the one getting drunk.”

“Thanks for calling. Linda, Laurel, Hartley, and Eddie are looking too, I’ll let them know we found Cisco.”

“He’s okay.”

“He will be fine, with rest. Please tell me he didn’t drink any of this speedster concoction?”

“No, it was just Barry and Wally, and only because they were too fast for me to stop them.”

“Thank you. I will go and make sure they haven’t just destroyed their livers; you should probably come to S.T.A.R. Labs instead of staying here alone.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

* * *

S.T.A.R. Labs had plenty of camp beds. It was quite comfy. And Ralph wasn’t the only one there, making sure Cisco did not move from the bed again. Barry was also curled up, on a different bed, clinging onto Eddie like an octopus, and Henry had offered to stay. Hartley obviously had refused to leave Cisco’s side again.

Cisco seemed all right when he woke up. Eddie was helping again, and Barry had taken the opportunity to run off in the few seconds he was left alone.

Joe didn’t even seem surprised when he walked in and found Barry gone.

“How are you feeling?” Caitlin asked.

“I’m achy and I have a hangover,” Cisco said. “Let’s not do that again.”

“Good idea,” Wally said. “I had a hangover for three minutes this morning, I have learnt my lesson, no more rocket fuel.”

“Wow, three minutes.”

“That’s so long.” Barry ran back in and grimaced.

“And where have you been?” Joe asked.

“Breakfast,” Barry said. He gestured at the various boxes now on the table. “That really nice place in Sun City is still open, I got those croissants I basically lived on in college and their coffee is very strong.”

“Thanks,” Cisco said. “So, Rip, this whole saving the universe thing.”

“I think I just need to find the Legends,” Rip said. “They didn’t listen to me about Mallus before, but I have to try again.”

“I can run you to wherever they are,” Wally said.

“Good plan,” Lily said. “What about you, Barry?”

“What about me?” Barry asked.

“What DeVoe did wasn’t your fault,” Joe said.

“I put them there though. I pushed Izzy too hard and she left.”

“If you’re feeling like-”

“We’d been drinking. Wally was exaggerating. I miss my job already; I’ll figure it out.”

“You can work here,” Hartley said. “Think how convenient that would be for Flash stuff.”

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “And Caitlin’s a biochemist, but we don’t have a chemist chemist, you could help Wally with his biofuel projects.”

“You consult with C.C.P.D. though,” Barry said.

“And you are innocent, and David knows that, so it won’t be a problem,” Joe said.

“Okay. We should probably eat the breakfast before it gets cold, and I have to talk to Detective Heart again at half nine, so maybe later.”

* * *

Barry was still Ralph’s daytime buddy. Ralph just hadn’t realised Barry was planning on dragging him to Jitters too to meet Detective Heart. They were even early.

“Thank you for this,” Detective Heart said, and shook hands with Barry. Barry seemed momentarily frozen but blinked and smiled again quickly enough no one else seemed to notice. “Feeling better?”

“Mostly, thanks,” Barry said. “This is my friend Ralph Dibny, Ralph, this is Detective August Heart. Captain Singh said you put in transfer paperwork?”

“He said the position was open and suggested it,” Detective Heart said. “But nothing official yet. And you’re…”

“Temporarily suspended on insistence from the mayor,” Barry said. “Anyway. Ralph’s a P.I., he was investigating DeVoe while I was in prison, so he’ll probably be able to help more than I can with that, but you had some questions about the storm?”

“What storm?” Ralph asked.

“The one last March,” Heart said.

“With all the funky coloured lightning?”

“That’s the one. It’s just about Barry’s disappearance that night.”

“You think that could be linked to DeVoe?”

“Not exactly. My brother Jorge was a police officer too, he died back in August, but he was investigating several disappearances, his first page the names he listed were all tied to that storm. You really don’t remember anything?”

“I really wish I could be more help, August,” Barry said. “But the name Black Hole I don’t even have déjà vu, so I don’t think it was them.”

“And you haven’t heard anything since,” Heart said.

“No.”

“Maybe it was coincidence. The names Meena Dhawan, Benedict Booker, Darwin Elias, Jack Monteleone, Delilah Hynes don’t mean anything to you?”

“I’ve heard of Monteleone,” Barry said. “But only because I worked at a police station. His brother was Joey Monteleone, right, the news called him Tar Pit? I can’t say I’ve ever met him though. All of them disappeared that night?”

“Or shortly after, that just seemed to be Jorge’s starting point, because his list grows from that night but there’s a few names crossed off, so maybe it was just something he was looking at and not related.”

“Crossed off?” Ralph asked. “Why?”

“Because he found them and talked to them,” Heart said. “Admittedly, neither of them were missing for nearly as long as Barry, one was just a day, one Jorge apparently asked about you, you know Daniel West?”

“Iris’ cousin?” Barry asked. “Ralph, you met cousin Wally at the wedding, Daniel’s his dad.”

“He wasn’t at the wedding,” Ralph said.

“No, you’d have to ask Joe what happened between him and William, he never told us, they had an argument when we were about twelve I guess; we just barely ever saw them after. And Daniel was young when Wally was born and I never even met Wally’s mother, but Wally lived with Rudy mostly, Daniel’s brother, until a few years ago when he moved in with Grandma Ann and Grandpa Ben. Iris likes Daniel, but they’re not close and I don’t remember the last time I actually saw him.”

“I think I have some questions for Joe,” Ralph said. “Is this an official case?”

“No,” Heart said. “It’s just I was going through Jorge’s notebooks and got more questions than answers, and I think there’s more to his death than I was told.”

“I can look into it. Barry can help me, you’re my assistant P.I. now.”

“Okay,” Barry said. “What?”

“You said Black Hole,” Ralph said. “That’s a name.”

“I think so,” Heart said. “They’re something to do with Amunet Black.”

“I’ll have to talk to Iris about her, and her cousin. Are those the only names crossed out?”

“There’s mine,” Heart said. “But I know what happened, I was at a crime scene, a wall fell on me, and my partner took me to hospital where I woke up two weeks later, so I think Jorge was just preoccupied, I don’t think it has anything to do with this. You’re actually offering to take this case.”

“You can’t investigate, it’s your brother. I can.”

“He’s pretty good,” Barry said. “We’ll find out what happened to your brother, August. Or we’ll do our best.”

“Thank you,” Heart said. “If you have an office, I can bring my notes and go through everything.”

“I even have a business card with the address on it,” Ralph said.

* * *

“You disappeared,” Ralph said when they left Jitters.

“You knew that,” Barry said. “I was in the Speed Force. That storm was the Speed Force opening up because it had had Jay in it stabilising it, but we let Jay out again, and I let Cobalt fade from existence and hopefully find peace rather than let him go back in for eternity.”

“What about when you froze after shaking his hand?”

“Just a tiny electric shock,” Barry said. “I’m always giving Iris and Eddie them though, it just hasn’t happened since I got out of prison, but I guess it means my metabolism is working properly again. I actually wasn’t expecting you to just offer to take the case.”

“It gives us both something to do,” Ralph said. “Come on, let’s go ask Iris questions about her cousins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note: While Barry's not doing very well mentally and this is going to come up again, I'm trying to steer mostly clear from the suicidal realm, it's a topic I often don't do very well with myself, so it is not going to play a huge role in this fic.


	14. Petty Theft

“Have you heard anything else about this newspaper yet?” Wally asked. Linda put down her book. “You haven’t been looking through the job pages, so I assumed you do want to do it. Unless you told Scott that you changed your mind. You do like Picture News.”

“It’s not just a paper,” Linda said. “The name has been run as a paper before and flopped, and it’s a big commitment.”

“Yeah,” Wally said. “But if anyone can do it, it’s you and Iris. She wants to, I know she does. It’s just money, but if you ask for help, it’ll work out. I know Iris won’t, in the same way I initially refused help with everything and I refused to let Cisco and Hartley pay for college for me so they tricked me into letting them by offering me a job, but who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t accepted help.”

“Money’s not as much of a concern in my family,” Linda said. “And it’s not like anyone’s willing to pay a lot for a failed newspaper, whatever their intentions are, but there’s all the other things that come with it, building up a readership, building trust, and we’d have the attachment of what the Citizen had done before which we wouldn’t if we had a completely new name, it’s a lot to take on. We couldn’t be as involved in Team Labs.”

“That’s okay.”

“It’s okay?”

“Things change, Linda. This time last year I was running around in yellow as Barry’s kid sidekick, and Laurel hadn’t picked her mask back up again, she was only just considering things, now I’m the Flash too and Laurel and Lily are dating. Things change. You aren’t going to stop being part of Team Labs, you’ll just do it differently.”

“It’s still something big. And maybe it won’t work.”

“But maybe it will. Maybe you’ll get someone to listen about Amunet Black, about Iron Heights, about everything. You can make people listen. Make sure people like Eiling don’t get away with hurting more Bette Sans Soucis, that people like DeVoe can’t do what they’ve been doing, you can help. And you’ll be good at it. I know you will. If you try, you might fail. If you don’t try, you can’t succeed.”

“Thanks, Wally.” Linda gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll talk to Iris about calling Mister Auchbach in the morning.”

* * *

Cisco was waiting when Wally finished running around the Speed Lab. He smiled and handed Wally a bottle of water.

“You’re getting faster.”

“I run faster when I’m running with Barry,” Wally said. “What’s up?”

“Linda and Iris said they’re going to have a meeting later about this paper.”

“They’ll be good at it.”

“Yeah, they will.”

“A vibe?”

“No, I just know them. DeVoe saw me when I was vibing.”

“I know. You are visible sometimes.”

“I wasn’t consciously projecting myself like when we used it to talk to Zoloman. He shouldn’t have been able to see me, let alone throw me across a room. Barry’s convinced if he can run through a breach after I start to close it, we can use it to catch DeVoe, but I don’t know that we can. And if he saw me, I can’t breach into wherever he’s hidden himself, I won’t be able to find it. And he threw a car at me, the only reason I’m not still in bed is Eddie’s powers.”

“You caused an earthquake at Iron Heights.”

“He already had what he wanted.”

“He didn’t get Mina Chaytan.”

“Wally, he could have breached into Iron Heights at any time. I could breach us into Iron Heights right now, but because my powers are meta based, I couldn’t breach us out again. His is his chair, that’s why he had to walk back over to it after he took Izzy’s body. He didn’t just want their bodies. He wanted to hurt Barry too.”

“Why? What did Barry do to him?”

“He saw me in a vibe. I can’t breach after him, my main powers are useless against him. Hartley and Laurel can’t use their tech, and Lily with the Cold Gun is out. Putting Barry in prison was to keep him out the way. I think he’s targeting Barry because he’s getting us all out the way so we can’t stop him. I don’t know what he plans on doing against Caitlin yet, but we both know the only reason he hasn’t gone after you is because holding you over Barry’s head is-”

“I get it,” Wally said. “So what do we do?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what his plan is, and I can’t vibe.”

“We’ll figure it out. We will.”

“Guys, breach room,” Iris said over the speakers. Wally ran off and Cisco breached in right as he got there.

“Jesse!” Wally said. He hugged her. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for Dad.”

“He didn’t go to Gorilla City again, did he?” Cisco asked.

“No, I found a note saying he was coming here today.”

“We haven’t seen him,” Wally said. “Do you need help?”

“He’ll show up tomorrow. It would have been my mother’s birthday today, and he did what he usually does and ran off to avoid admitting anything happened.”

“I’m sorry,” Wally said. “You know if you want someone to talk to…”

“I know,” Jesse said. “Anyway, how’s your Earth doing?”

“Great,” Cisco said. “Barry’s not in prison anymore. Iris and Linda might take over a newspaper. I can’t think of anything else going well for us off the top of my head. Have you met Hartley’s new rats? Here, look.” Cisco offered Jesse his phone.

“Your lock screen is Hartley asleep covered in rats wearing the world’s ugliest pyjamas,” Jesse said.

“I made those pyjamas, that’s an intentional look,” Cisco said. “The nightcap Jerrie gave him years ago; it has sentimental value. Isn’t he cute?”

An alarm went off.

“Told you nothing was going well for us,” Cisco said. “You want to help?”

“I’d love to.”

* * *

Wally was pretty sure DeVoe didn’t have anything to do with these guys attacking an A.R.G.U.S. transport. At least they got there fast enough to stop them shooting everyone. Too late for some of the others.

Barry was staring at the container that had been opened. At superspeed. Wally and Jesse ran to either side of him.

“Hey, Jesse,” Barry said. “How are you?”

“That’s a nuclear bomb,” Jesse said.

“Yeah.”

“It’s already gone off,” Wally said.

“Yeah.”

“We have milliseconds,” Jesse said. “If we slow down-”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “Any ideas?”

* * *

Wally was pacing outside the container. Barry was sat down in front of it, and Jesse was standing next to him. Everyone else in the room looked completely still.

“Can we run it out the city?” Wally asked.

“Not without potentially speeding up the reaction,” Barry said. “We wouldn’t have time to get it far enough.”

“We could phase it down? Into the Earth’s mantle?”

“Pretty sure we’d die,” Jesse said. “And maybe cause an earthquake or something.”

“If we can’t figure this out, we also die. If we could ask for help.”

“Cisco,” Barry said. “Cisco would know.”

“But we can’t slow down to ask him,” Jesse said.

“We don’t have to,” Barry said. He shot to Cisco’s side. “I really hope this works.”

He put his hand on Cisco’s shoulder and lightning flickered around Cisco. Cisco gasped and looked around. “Barry?”

“You’re moving as fast as me-”

“I’m in Flashtime? How?”

“I don’t know and we don’t have time, there’s a bomb.”

“Show me.”

Barry kept his hand on Cisco’s shoulder as they came back to the container.

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “That’s not good. I read about a very experimental deuterium fission project; my guess is they turned it into an explosive. My good news is I don’t think it’s giving off huge radiation levels yet?”

“Can you do something?” Wally asked.

“The reaction’s already started,” Cisco said. “But if I open a breach, like with Fallout-” Cisco held out his hand and a breach flickered, but didn’t grow. “Come on.”

“We’re moving too fast,” Barry said. “A breach needs time to form, we’re moving too fast for it.”

“I’m sorry,” Cisco said. He stumbled. “I- I’m sorry-”

“No, hey, it’s not your fault,” Barry said. “You’re okay. You’re not a speedster, your body isn’t used to these speeds. I need to let you go.”

“Tell Hartley I love him,” Cisco said. “Barry, tell Hartley that I love him.”

“I will,” Barry said. He put Cisco back and let go. “Okay.”

“How did you do that?” Jesse asked.

“I have no idea,” Barry said. “Okay. Okay. Deuterium, fission, deuterium, fission, deuterium, heavy water, Wally, go get Jay.”

“What?”

“Jay’s done a lot of work with heavy water, deuterium is a hydrogen isotope, it’s in heavy water, Wally, go get Jay.”

“But Cisco couldn’t open a breach,” Jesse said.

“I know. But we’re speedsters. Our powers work differently. Fission, Jesse, I need you to go get Martin Stein. He’ll be at home. I really hope he’s at home. I’m going to talk to Hartley. Be quick, both of you.”

Wally nodded and shot off. Earth-3, Jay, Earth-3, Jay, Earth-3-

He shot into a lab. Jay was standing there, with a young woman or maybe a teenager in a Flash suit- darker red than Wally’s, but with a similar cowl-, and both of them sped up to match Wally’s speeds.

“Flash?” Jay asked. “What are you doing-”

“We really need your help,” Wally said. “Jay, please. We need you. Someone set a bomb off in our Central, please.”

“Kid, breathe,” Jay said. “You need to-”

“If I slow down, everyone is going to die,” Wally said. “Jay, please, we don’t know what to do.”

“You’re Wally,” the girl said. “Aren’t you? Barry sent you?”

“Yes,” Wally said. “We haven’t met.”

“I’m Danica. We can help, can’t we Jay?”

“Yes,” Jay said.

* * *

Time must have passed in Wally getting Jay and Danica, because Hartley was standing slightly differently, and Jesse had found Martin.

“I hate to say it, Barry,” Martin was saying. “Hartley might be right.”

“But Wally went through a breach,” Jesse said. “We can open breaches. Can’t we?”

“And time passes,” Wally said. “I found Jay. The reaction’s a little further than when I left.”

“Jay,” Barry said. “Martin, I need to let you go.”

“Good luck, Barry,” Martin said. Barry nodded and let go.

“Jay, thank you so much,” Barry said.

“How did you do that?” Jay asked.

“I don’t know,” Barry said. “It first happened in the courtroom with Iris, so I think it’s got something to do with being in the Speed Force.”

“Can you not do that?” Jesse asked.

“No,” Jay said. “This is Danica.”

“Hi,” Danica said. “Barry and I have met.”

“We have?” Barry asked.

“I can hear the speedsters in the Speed Force,” Danica said. “I got my powers last March and then you started talking to me.”

“I did? I don’t remember.”

“You never made much sense, but you told me to find Jay.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Barry said. “Hartley said maybe we can open a breach to the Speed Force-”

“No,” Jay said. “You do that you might destroy the Speed Force.”

“Then it’s a good thing Martin had two ideas. We can counter it with fusion, but he couldn’t hold on long enough to do all the calculations. Option two is we cool it down.”

“And we do know someone who’s very good at cooling things down,” Wally said. Barry nodded and put his hand on Caitlin’s shoulder. She looked at all of them.

“Barry,” Caitlin said. “What-”

Barry brought her over and gestured at the bomb in the container.

“Ah,” Caitlin said. “Is that-”

“Can you cool it down?”

Caitlin nodded and focused. A few wisps of ice came out, but barely enough to chill a bottle, let alone freeze a bomb. She stumbled against Barry’s chest.

“It’s the same as Cisco breaching,” Jesse said. “If they aren’t speedsters, their powers can’t work at superspeed.”

“Or it’s just too hot,” Wally said. “It is warm.”

“You’re burning up,” Caitlin said, resting her hand on Wally’s forehead. “How long have you-”

“We can’t stop,” Barry said. “It’s okay. We’ll fix this. We’ll get you back to Iris tonight.”

Caitlin nodded and Barry put her back and let go.

“What about time travel?” Jesse asked. “Stop the bomb going off?”

“No,” Wally said. “Time travel is more trouble than it’s worth. Something would go wrong. We have to get this bomb out of the city.”

“Can’t you get all the people out of the city?” Danica asked. “There are five of us.”

“And there are seven hundred and fifty thousand people who live in Central City,” Barry said. “And we’re close enough we’d have to evacuate Keystone too, that’s another two fifty, added together that’s a million people. Plus, people who are visiting for the day, all their pets, I don’t think even we’re fast enough to pull that off.” Barry rubbed his eyes with three fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose. “If we breach it to the Speed Force-”

“It would destroy the Speed Force,” Jay said. “And cut every speedster off from their speed.”

“It’s a million people, Jay.”

“It might stop Thawne,” Jay said. “And it would cut Max off, and they were in the middle of a Thanagrain conflict with their Justice Society when we last spoke. There are countless worlds across the multiverse, countless speedsters, we aren’t the only Flashes, kid, who knows how many there are with their own cities of millions of people, worlds of billions, that is what we are risking. This is bigger than us. The Speed Force is bigger than us, it’s part of the multiverse, you know that. Who knows what we would do?”

“We could destroy everything,” Wally said. “We can’t, Barry.”

“I can’t let my city die.”

“What if we throw lightning?” Jesse said. “Martin didn’t have time to do any calculations, but if a lightning bolt gives off around five hundred megajoules, if all of us throw lightning, maybe we can produce enough energy to counter the reaction?”

“I don’t know how to throw lightning yet,” Danica said. She looked tired. “Jay, I can’t-”

“It’s all right, kiddo,” Jay said. “Just rest.”

“You did good, Danica,” Barry said. Danica nodded and stopped. “Lightning.”

“Lightning,” Jesse said. She started running faster, and the three of them followed her. Wally tossed a lightning bolt after Barry, and Jay’s missed, and he slipped.

“Jay?” Barry asked. “Are you okay?”

“Danica’s not the only one slowing down,” Jay said. “Alan and Joan both keep telling me I’m not as young as I was once. Maybe it’s time I admit they’re right.”

“Thank you for trying,” Barry said. “You should take Danica back to Earth-3.”

“I don’t think I can right now. Barry, you can do this. There will be a way. All you have to do is find it.”

Jay froze too.

“What if we try lightning again?” Jesse asked. “If we-”

“Jesse,” Wally said. The explosion was almost out of the container. “I think we’re slowing down.”

“We can’t. What about Ronnie and Jason? You brought Martin-”

“Jax is with the Legends, we won’t be able to find him in time,” Wally said. “And when they’re Firestorm they’re on fire, Barry won’t be able to hold on.”

“Cisco and Caitlin’s powers didn’t work,” Barry said. “I don’t know if they could merge or not. If they did, I think they’d last even less time than everyone else with both of them together. Maybe if I can get to S.T.A.R. Labs I can work out the calculations.”

“My dad is somewhere in your city, Barry,” Jesse said. “And if he lied, he’s going to blame himself for me being here. Unless Dad could help. You could do your thing and he might have an idea?”

“You think you can find him?” Barry asked. Jesse nodded. “Go. I’ll be at S.T.A.R. Labs or here.”

Jesse shot off.

* * *

Barry mostly seemed frustrated at the numbers he kept scribbling then wiping off the wipe board. He slammed his hand against it.

He was working too fast for Wally to keep up, and Wally felt himself slip down the wall.

“Come on!” Barry shouted. “There has to be something!”

“Barry.”

“Wally.” He was at Wally’s side faster than Wally could still keep track of and sweat dripped down his face. “Wally it’s okay, I’ve got you. Take Jay and Danica back to Earth-3.”

“No, I’m not leaving you,” Wally said. “I’m not leaving you.”

“You’re burning up, Wally,” Barry said. “You can’t keep going.”

“You never even considered it, did you? Running away? We’re fast enough. But you’re not leaving.”

“How can I?”

“And we could evacuate some people. But not everyone. But that’s not good enough for you. You have to save everyone. And you’re always going to choose saving people over saving yourself.”

“When I started Joe told me I couldn’t save everyone.”

“Maybe you can’t. But we’re going to today. Aren’t we?”

“Yeah, Wally,” Barry said. “We’re going to save everyone today.” He helped Wally up and put Wally’s arm over his shoulder. “We’re going to the Cortex.”

“Lily could help with your calculations. She knows all of Martin’s research.”

“Maybe. We’re going to talk to Linda and Iris first.”

* * *

Linda and Iris were both in the middle of the Cortex, and Barry helped Wally into a chair then put his hands on both of their shoulders at once.

“Barry?” Iris said.

“Wally,” Linda said. “Wally, it’s okay, Wally, Barry, let me-”

“Can’t,” Barry croaked. “You’re moving with me, like before with Iris.”

“There’s a bomb,” Wally said. “We tried everything, Linds, we can’t-”

“It’s okay,” Linda said. “It’s not your fault, Wally.”

“I’m so proud of you, Walls,” Iris said. “And you, Barry.”

“I don’t know how to save you,” Barry said. “We asked Cisco, and Hartley, and Caitlin, and Martin, and Jay, we don’t have anything. We tried cooling it down and lightning and opening a breach, nothing works, Irey. All we have is to throw it into the Speed Force, but we don’t know what it will do.”

“It’s okay,” Iris said. “It’s okay.” Barry slipped. “It’s okay, Barry.”

“I’m just tired,” Barry said. “Can’t slow down. If I slow down-”

“Yeah,” Linda said. “Wally, I love you.”

“I love you,” Wally said.

“I want you to know that,” Linda said. “I love you very much, Wally West. After you’ve done running, you come find me, okay?”

“Always,” Wally said.

Linda stepped away from Barry, out of reach of his hand, and she froze.

“I can-”

“Barry, you’re tired,” Iris said. “It’s too much for- Lightning.”

“We already tried. Lightning didn’t work and opening the Speed Force is too much of a risk and-”

“What about the lightning from the Speed Force?”

“The storm,” Wally said. “The storm, the Quark Sphere means the Speed Force thinks Barry is still in there, but if we get the Sphere-”

“You can get the lightning you need,” Iris said. “Barry?”

He slipped back against the wall and let go of Iris. Wally stood and offered Barry his hand.

“I’m so tired.”

“A million people,” Wally said. “We’re faster together.”

Barry nodded and took Wally’s hand.

“Ready, Flash?”

“Always.”

* * *

The Speed Force was so big. It seemed so empty. But Wally could see the storm, he could see the lightning, yellow, red, purple, pink, and blue. And he could see the Quark Sphere.

Barry grabbed it and Wally skidded out the Speed Force after him. He ducked out the way of the lightning. Everyone was falling, the explosion was so much bigger than they’d left it, and Barry was heading straight for it, but he was almost a blur, no, he couldn’t slow down now, couldn’t slow down now-

He had to get to Barry.

No, he couldn’t stop-

His dad was standing over him.

“Flash?” he asked.

“No,” Wally said. “No, no, I stopped, I stopped-”

“Wally,” Linda said in his ear. “Wally, it’s okay.”

“I stopped-”

“Are we dead?” Barry asked. Wally sat up and Barry was lying next to him.

“No,” Wally’s dad said.

“Cool,” Barry said. “I’m going to sleep now. Night, Joe.”

“Detective,” Cisco said. “Why don’t I get Flash and Flash here somewhere more comfortable? I get the feeling it’s been a long day.”

“Just a really long two seconds,” Wally said.

* * *

Wally had no idea how long he had been asleep for, but he definitely needed the sleep. And Barry was still passed out.

And now he was starving.

“Got you covered,” Cisco said. He put twenty tubs of pasta on the end of Wally’s bed. “That’s just from Clarissa, I can go get more.”

“I’ll start with this,” Wally said. He picked up a fork and a tub.

He was halfway through the fifth tub when Barry woke up and grabbed one. Danica rushed in to hug him before he could properly start eating.

“Hey,” Barry said. Jay and Jesse weren’t far behind. “We didn’t blow up the Speed Force.”

“You did good,” Jay said. “Your friends found a video from Eden Corp taking credit for it.”

“Oh good. I’m going to ask A.R.G.U.S. why they thought transporting a nuclear bomb through a city was a good idea. Just why nuclear bombs were a good idea. All bombs sound bad to me.”

“And I found Dad,” Jesse said. “He was with Cecile, designing something to help her sleep, he’s calling it the cerebral inhibitor. He said something about her mentioning Joe’s bizarre dreams at the last superhero parent support club meeting?”

“Dad, Henry, Dinah, Beverly, and Clarissa go out for drinks some Fridays,” Wally said. “Dinah told Laurel it was superhero parent support club, I guess Harry and Cecile joined. Probably Martin now he’s back.”

“Anyway, I should get back to Earth-2. Dad says he’s still not ready to talk about it, but I guess we have time.”

“It was good to see you, Jesse,” Barry said. “Despite circumstances.”

“Till next time.” Jesse smiled and ran off.

“We should get going too,” Jay said. “It seems like I still have some new tricks to learn.”

“I’d tell you how I did that, but I still have no idea,” Barry said. “It was nice to properly meet you, Danica.”

“You too, Barry,” Danica said. “Bye, Wally.”

“See you around, Flash,” Wally said. Jay and Danica smiled and disappeared. “Now what?”

“I’m going to eat this pasta then go back to sleep,” Barry said.

“Good plan.”

* * *

Wally hadn’t really intended to spend the night at Linda’s, but he’d ended up curled up with Linda anyway.

“It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?” Linda asked.

“Yeah,” Wally said.

“I love you.” She kissed him.

“I love you too,” Wally said. “How did your meeting go?”

“I think Iris and I bought a newspaper.”

“You’re going to be great, Linds.”

“You need rest. Caitlin’s orders.”

“More sleep does sound really good.”

* * *

Or he could get woken up at three in the morning by Eddie calling him saying Barry wasn’t home and he was worried. Linda had mumbled but Wally had told her to go back to sleep and run off. Iris hadn’t seen him either, and Wally was fastest, he could run around the city searching.

The Time Vault wasn’t exactly one of his top ten places to look, but still. The lights were on and Barry was sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by wires and pieces of metal.

“What’s going on?” Wally asked.

“Hey,” Barry said. “Can you pass me the screwdriver with the blue handle?”

“It’s three in the morning, Barry.”

“It is? What are you doing here?”

“Eddie was worried you weren’t home.”

“I just had an idea for an alert system, I must have got distracted.”

“Why are you in the Time Vault?”

“I thought there might be something useful in here.”

“We almost died today.”

“Yeah.”

“Look, what you said while we were drunk-”

“I was drunk. It’s not important.”

“I kind of feel like it is?”

“Just drop it, Wally.”

“You know I’m here if you want to talk, don’t you. You don’t have to. I can wait until you’re ready. You can talk to someone else. But if you want to talk to me, I’ll listen.”

“I just got distracted,” Barry said. “I’ll go home now.”

“Hey. You saved a million people today. Don’t forget that.”

“Night, Wally.”

* * *

They were still having no luck with the bus metas. They only had two more to find. Mina was safe with Lisa, even if Wally wasn’t entirely sure Barry had made the right decision trusting them both. Matthew was still checking in, he was fine. Neil Borman was with Tracy, she said he was fine. Ralph was with them and the buddy system had been working so far.

But there were two more bus metas out there and they couldn’t find them.

Wally was really hoping that wasn’t because DeVoe had found them first.

* * *

Wally had got used to a lot since he’d found out Barry was the Flash. The very first thing Barry had told him was Doctor Wells was Reverse Flash and then he’d run through a wall and told everyone he’d time travelled and Cisco had died in the other timeline, Wally had kind of been thrown in at the deep end. And then they’d found other Earths and other timelines, he’d got powers from touching a rock, there were telepathic gorillas and shark men, he’d fought aliens and was also friends with an alien, he was used to this by now, he could roll with the punches.

Still, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of walking into the Cortex to find Iris holding a rope and Barry floating at the other end of it like a balloon. Clinging onto one of the ceiling beams for dear life.

“Um,” Wally said. “You okay up there, Barry?”

“No,” Barry said. “Please get me down.”

“If I-”

“Not you,” Barry interrupted Ralph. “None of this would have happened if you’d listened.”

“Barry, that’s not fair,” Iris said. “Lily?”

Lily was the only one sitting at the console in the Cortex typing. Wally knew where Hartley was, downstairs where the two of them had both been working on engine designs. Presumably, Laurel, Eddie, his dad, and Henry were at work. Linda and Iris were looking for an office but currently were based at S.T.A.R. Labs, so they were both there, but he wasn’t sure where Cisco and Caitlin were. And Ralph was sitting next to Lily while Barry floated up by the ceiling with his eyes squeezed shut.

“I think it might wear off?” Lily said. Barry cried out then dropped and hit the floor. He rushed back up to his feet.

“I need a minute,” he said, then ran out the room.

“Do you think it’s okay if I go after him?” Ralph asked.

“If you think you can talk some sense into him,” Iris said. Ralph nodded and followed Barry.

“What’s going on?” Wally asked.

“We found another bus meta,” Iris said. “Janet Petty. She robbed the Central City Museum last night. Ralph had an idea for where she might have gone to sell the crown she stole on and he and Barry went to talk to him, Petty was there, and they were both out of costume, Barry still had an idea but she made him float and got away.”

“Also, Breacher’s here,” Lily said. “He’s in the Speed Lab with Caitlin and Cisco working out why his powers fritzed earlier.”

“What’ve you been doing?” Linda asked.

“Engine building with Hartley. Do you guys need any help?”

“We can handle it,” Iris said. “We’ll let you know. Do you need help?”

“No, I just came to grab some safety goggles for Hartley so he doesn’t get oil on his glasses. We’ve made a bit more mess than I expected. You’re sure you don’t need any help.”

“We’re still trying to find her, we’ll let you know when we do. You go work on your engine.”

* * *

Barry was in the Time Vault again. Iris had said Petty- Null she called herself- got away again by floating a car up and almost killing some people, and Barry had saved them rather than catch her which was the choice any of them would make. But he’d been alone because he was still being stubborn and was angry with Ralph. And he hadn’t come back to the Cortex, which was why Iris had come to check if he’d found Wally and Hartley instead.

But he’d shut himself in the Time Vault with his project he still hadn’t explained.

“Hey, Barry,” Wally said. “You want to talk about it?”

“He’s not taking it seriously,” Barry said. “People are in danger, he is in danger, and he’s not taking it seriously.”

“Maybe not. But maybe that’s because he’s trying not to think about it?”

“I can’t do this again. I have seen so many people die and not been able to do anything, I can’t do this again. He’s my friend, I can’t do this again.”

“I’m glad you see me as a friend,” Ralph said. He walked into the Time Vault with Iris. “What is this place?”

“Eobard Thawne built it, he used it when he was still pretending to be Harrison Wells,” Iris said. She stepped over to the podium and brought up the future newspaper. “Mostly he used it to try and direct time to how he wanted it to go.”

“Flash Vanishes. Is that-”

“That’s the future,” Barry said. “That’s the day I die. 24th April 2024. Eobard said so, Rip said so, Zari said so, when Wally dreamt of the other timeline, he said the multiverse destabilises and someone has to fix it. I don’t care. It saves the world, why wouldn’t I do that. I was going to hand myself over to the Dominators to save the world, but no one would let me. My life for the multiverse, that’s not even up for debate. That’s different.”

“No,” Iris said. “It isn’t. Ralph, last year I was supposed to die. Barry ran to the future by accident, he saw me die. We spent months working on changing the future. And I did my best to accept it. I didn’t want to. I know you don’t want to. And that you’re scared. You’re making jokes to hide that you’re scared. You don’t have to deal with this on your own. Barry and I both get it. And I think all three of us should talk. This might not even be what you need to talk about right now, Barry, but you can’t just let all this build up inside you then snap at people, that is not fair. Ralph is going through something difficult too. And your main complaint is what, he doesn’t think things through? Can you honestly tell me you have always thought things through?”

“I’m sorry,” Barry said.

“Iris, are you okay?” Ralph asked.

“I don’t know,” Iris said.

“You want to talk about it?” Barry asked. “You know you can always talk to me, right?”

“And you know that goes both ways.”

“Guys,” Lily stepped into the Time Vault. “Sorry, we’ve found Janet Petty, she’s at the museum again, there’s a fancy gala.”

“Ralph, grab your suit,” Barry said.

* * *

A lady was starting to float up right as they got there, and Wally grabbed hold of her.

“I’ve got you,” he said. “I’ve got you, just hold on.”

“You brought friends this time, Flash,” Petty said. “Can’t handle me alone?”

“No getaway car this time, Null?” Barry asked.

“Oh, there are plenty of people here.” Petty knelt down and touched the ground. Ripples of green spread along the ground towards all the gala guests.

“Barry, you have to get everyone out of there,” Iris said through the comms. Barry took off towards the guests. Wally was still holding the woman who was still floating.

“Done,” Barry said. “Where’s-”

“Flash,” Ralph said. Wally turned to face them as Petty stepped back from Barry. Who was floating.

“Help,” Barry squeaked.

“You good up there, Flash?” Petty laughed.

“No,” Barry said. “Someone get me down.”

He was shooting up faster and Petty stepped back towards the valuables while Ralph attempted to catch Barry and missed.

“Guys, he’s too high,” Ralph said. “What do I do?”

“Hartley, can you get Cisco?” Iris asked. “He’s still downstairs with Caitlin and Breacher.”

“He’s going too fast, I don’t think we have time,” Hartley said. “Which means we don’t have time to get Kara either.”

“Please hurry,” Barry said. “Please… Plea- Plea-”

“Barry?” Linda asked. “Can you still hear me?”

“If he gets too high, he won’t be able to breathe,” Lily said. “He might have passed out from lack of oxygen.”

“Or just from the height,” Iris said. “Kendra and Carter are probably at home, but they’ve got Hector now-”

“I have an idea,” Ralph said. “Barry, I don’t think you’re going to like this.”

“I trust you,” Barry said. “I’m just- I’m just-”

Ralph stretched out and put the meta cuffs on Janet Petty. The woman Wally was holding immediately dropped and he caught her and helped her to her feet.

“You should run,” he said.

“He’s falling fast,” Lily said. “He’s at eight thousand feet. Five thousand feet.”

“We have to breach him down,” Linda said.

“That won’t slow his velocity, he’d break so many bones-”

“I can catch him,” Ralph said.

“The wind might affect his trajectory,” Hartley said. “Barry, I need you to fall as straight as you can.”

“Can any of us do anything straight?”

“Lily!” Linda said.

“Oh, like he wouldn’t be saying the exact same thing. Um. One thousand feet.”

“I see him,” Wally said. “I might be able to slow him down if I create a vortex like with Fallout. Elongated Man?”

“Got it,” Ralph said. He took a deep breath and started swelling. Wally ran in a circle around him. Just enough updraft to slow Barry down a little.

He crashed down onto where Ralph was now very swollen and bounced slightly. Ralph started deflating with whoopie cushion sound effects. Wally just raised an eyebrow.

“You got him?” Wally asked.

“Yeah,” Ralph said. He wiggled back into Ralph shape with Barry in his arms. “He’s still breathing.”

“Great,” Wally said. “So just to deal with you, Ms Petty.”

“You think you caught me?” she said. She held up the cuffs where she must have picked the locks. “Think again, Kid Flash. Your boss couldn’t stop me.”

“Okay, first of all, he’s not my boss, he’s my brother, I’m pretty sure Kid Flash was him and my sister winding me up, second, I’m not Kid Flash anymore, I’m the Flash now, we share the name, third, you’re under arrest, fourth, you were on the 405 bus back in October, that’s how you got your powers, there’s a supervillain who wants them and will kill you to get them so you would be better off coming with us because we want to keep people safe and that includes the criminals even if they, for example, tried to kill my brother less than five minutes ago, fifth, if you can tell us who the last person on the bus was, even a tiny description, we really need to find them because, again, supervillain, six people are already dead because of Clifford DeVoe, I would not like to add anyone else to that list, thanks.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just…” Wally ran, grabbed the cuffs, and cuffed her hands behind her back. “Just don’t. Please.”

Two police cars pulled up. Captain Singh and Wally’s dad climbed out of one.

“Great timing, guys,” Ralph said. “Flash, we should…”

“Yep.”

* * *

Barry was conscious again by the time Wally got Ralph into S.T.A.R. Labs. And Caitlin and Cisco were in the Cortex.

“I’m fine, Caitlin,” Barry said. “I’m pretty sure it was just because I was having a panic attack and wasn’t breathing right already when the air got too thin to breathe right. It’s probably a good thing, it means I have no memory of almost falling to my death.”

“So, heights aren’t your favourite,” Ralph said.

“Nope,” Barry said. “Thanks for catching me.”

“Any time.”

“Please never again. This is why I don’t fly.”

“You can fly?”

“If we spin our arms fast enough we can create basically small tornados and sort of fly,” Wally said. “Well, Barry did it once, so I assume we can all do it, it seems like something we’d all be able to do?”

“I don’t know,” Barry said. “You can go try if you want, I’m going to go find a bathroom.”

He shot out the room at super speed.

“I’ll go find him,” Caitlin said. “He’s getting a check up whether he likes it or not.”

“Need a hand catching him?” Hartley asked. The two of them left.

“How’s Breacher?” Wally asked.

“Old,” Cisco said. “He’s just getting old. He’ll be all right, but he can’t go back to Collecting. He’s really worried about Cindy.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Iris said.

* * *

Everyone gathered at S.T.A.R. Labs first thing. Iris had written a brief thing on Janet Petty for the Citizen. Spencer Young had a whole article on Wally and Barry being brothers on her website, and Gem Gossip had naturally chosen a picture of Barry unconscious in Ralph’s arms for their cover. At least Picture News had an article on what had actually happened.

“I am so glad you and Linda are running a newspaper now,” Barry said. “I couldn’t bring myself to look at the Times’ cover.”

“Don’t,” Linda said. “At least they’ve stopped claiming you talk to yourself; they just assume you’re talking to the mysterious sister now. Leading theory seems to be that it’s Jesse.”

“I should not have said anything,” Wally said.

“Nah, you’re fine,” Barry said. “We have bigger problems.”

“David’s organised protective custody for Janet Petty,” Wally’s dad said. “I don’t know if it’ll keep her safe from DeVoe.”

“I’ll call Lyla, see if she can help,” Laurel said.

“We still have one bus meta to find and no leads,” Linda said.

“But as far as we know, DeVoe doesn’t know where they are either,” Iris said. “And you know who else Wally mentioned yesterday?”

“It was an accident,” Wally said.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Iris said. “I’m going to keep looking into the DeVoes, he wants the bus metas for a reason, maybe we missed something before.”

“I think I might have an idea for something we can use to fight him,” Hartley said. “Lily, I might need your help.”

“And I can keep working on trying to predict pocket dimensions,” Cisco said.

“We can do this,” Iris said. “We’ll stop him, I know we can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The population of Central given in Death of Vibe was 14 million, but I looked it up (https://www.worldatlas.com/citypops.htm, https://www.thoughtco.com/the-largest-cities-in-the-world-4163437) and this would make Central City about the 17th largest city in the world which seemed quite big, so the 750,000 is from the DC fandom wiki for the comics. According to them Keystone has a population of 212,289, but it's only rounded up a little bit to bring it up to a million and that is still so many people. According to the arrowverse wiki Star City has a population of 576,000 people (or it did at one point) and National City has 4 million people. That's so, so many people.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium seemed quite interesting
> 
> I've been told engine oil can crack glasses. At the very least, it'll probably be a pain to clean off again.


	15. Loss

Nothing. It had been a week and they had nothing on the last bus meta. Janet Petty was still at C.C.P.D., with a constant guard, as far as Barry knew. Maybe it wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t DeVoe or Amunet Black.

Cisco was struggling with the pocket dimension detector too.

“It’s just such a short span of time,” Cisco said. “By the time we get there, he’ll already be gone.”

“Can you detect when a breach is about to open?” Barry asked.

“Usually we can detect it as one is opening,” Cisco said. “Sometimes I can feel it just before. Like something’s tugging at the vibrations of the universe, but we already know I can’t vibe DeVoe, and I didn’t feel anything when he zapped out of Iron Heights right in front of me.”

“We can keep working on it.”

Wally ran in and skidded into a chair. He had sandwiches and offered one to Barry.

“You’re my favourite,” Barry said.

“I brought you one too, Cisco,” Wally said.

“Thanks,” Cisco said. “What if we try scanning for dark matter? With six different powers, we already know DeVoe has too much dark matter to vibe, we should be able to detect that.”

“It’ll let us know where he is,” Barry said. “If he’s in our dimension, we can pick it up, if he’s not we can assume he’s in his pocket dimension.”

“How come you’re the one helping Cisco with computer stuff?” Wally asked. “It’s usually Hartley.”

“He’s working on something,” Barry said. “And I’ve been doing a lot of reading up on computer stuff.”

“You’re very helpful,” Cisco said. He doubled over and clutched his head.

“Cisco?” Barry asked. He wrapped an arm around Cisco and Cisco leaned against him. A trickle of blood leaked out his nose.

“Something’s wrong with Mari,” Cisco said.

“Who?” Wally asked. “Oh, that kind of wrong. I do know Mari, it’s just fuzzy.”

“This has to be something to do with the Legends,” Barry said. “Amaya’s Mari’s grandmother, so if her timeline changes too much...”

“It’s flickering,” Cisco said. “Ow my head.”

“Wally, go get Caitlin or Dad,” Barry said.

“No,” Cisco said. “We have to get to Detroit.”

“Cisco-”

“They can handle everything without us for a few hours.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. You remember when you almost disappeared from existence because I was changing time catching Eobard?”

“I’m okay,” Cisco said. “Mari might not be. Detroit, now.”

“No, Wally, go get Mari, bring her here,” Barry said. “I have an idea, I don’t know if it will work, but I have an idea, and Cisco is not going anywhere like this. Bring her to the Time Vault. Trust me.”

“With my life,” Cisco said. Wally nodded and shot off, and Barry kept an arm around Cisco’s waist. “Why are we walking?”

“Wally needs time to get Mari. We have time.”

Cisco nodded and Barry helped him walk. It wasn’t far.

“Cisco?” Linda asked. “Barry, what-”

“Timeline’s shifting,” Barry said. “Can you get Hartley and either Caitlin or Dad or Eddie, whoever you find first? We’re going to the Time Vault. Wally’s about to meet us there with Mari, I hope.”

Linda nodded and rushed the other way down the corridor, towards the Cortex. Barry put his hand on the wall and opened the Time Vault. He sat Cisco in the chair he must have left last time he was in here and darted over to the podium. She wasn’t ready yet, nowhere near ready, but maybe-

Wally ran in with Mari. Her arm was in a sling.

“Are you okay?” Cisco asked.

“Fine,” Mari said. “I should be asking you that question.”

“I’ll be fine. Have you noticed anything you can’t explain? New memories? We need to find out where the divergence is. Wally told you your timeline is in flux?”

“I thought I saw Kuasa earlier,” Mari said. “She’s dead.”

“That could be a result of the timeline shifting or the cause,” Cisco said. “Barry’s right, the Legends are the most obvious cause, if something happens to Amaya that causes ripples through to you. Maybe they met a young Kuasa?”

“No, they mentioned Kuasa before, when I dropped in with Rip,” Wally said. “Something about the totems? There’s that evil guy, Mallus, who wants to break time to escape his prison and the totems are involved, when we found Ray we stole the Fire Totem from the Darhks.”

“Kuasa had the Water Totem,” Mari said. “Ray would know that, he and Laurel helped me with her once before.”

“Things are changing again,” Cisco said. More blood dripped from his nose and Hartley ran in.

“Cisco.”

“Everything’s fine, Hart,” Cisco said. “Tell me everything you know about Mari, now.”

“What?” Hartley asked. “Ms Jiwe, I don’t think we’ve met, I’m-”

“Hartley Rathaway, we have met,” Mari said. “I’m Mari McCabe, you must be thinking of my grandmother, the Vixen travelling with the Legends.”

“Jiwe,” Barry said. “I’ve got it.” He typed in a date and brought up two newspapers from 1992. They floated in hologram form over the podium.

“What is this?” Mari asked.

“Just something I’ve been working on,” Barry said. “That’s the change. In one timeline, the timeline we know, your mother dies this day, and you’re subsequently adopted by Patty and Chuck McCabe, in the timeline that’s trying to break through, that attack never happens, you’re raised in Zambesi.”

“The Legends are in 1992,” Wally said. “Why is Grodd in that newspaper article?”

“Hey, honorary Time Dad, time to go clean up after your kids,” Cisco said.

“All right,” Barry said. “Time to go time travelling, I guess. Wally, grab your suit.”

“I’m coming too,” Mari said. “It’s my life they’re changing.”

“Naturally,” Barry said.

“I’m coming too,” Cisco said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Hartley said.

“My powers are useful. And I’ll probably be better right at the point of the change instead of feeling twenty-six years’ worth of ripples. I’ll be fine, Hart. I love you. Be right back. Barry?”

“I can get us there,” Barry said. “Hartley-”

“No, stay and look after Central,” Cisco said. “Promise I’ll be right back.”

“I love you,” Hartley said. “And I am holding you to that promise.”

* * *

Rip- without his coat- was facing a huge monster with wings holding something that seemed to be heating up. That couldn’t be good.

Barry put Cisco down then shot forward to grab him, right before the something exploded. The monster thing vanished at least.

“Flash?” Rip asked.

“Hey,” Barry said. “What was that thing?”

“Mallus, the time demon. That would only have delayed him, not stopped him, but the Legends have the six totems, they can stop him. What are you doing here?”

“You lot changed time,” Cisco said. “It directly impacted our friend. Obviously, I noticed.”

“Ms McCabe,” Rip said.

“For now,” Mari said. “Where are the Legends now?”

“I don’t know. I was trying to buy them time, so they could run.”

“Buying time with your life?” Wally asked. “That’s not good, Rip.”

“Is your arm okay?” Mari asked. Rip looked down at it. Barry must have not grabbed him fast enough, one of his hands was badly burnt, and from how Rip was holding his arm, it wasn’t just his hand that was hurt. “I think you might need this more than me.”

“What about your arm?” Cisco asked.

“I have a sprained wrist, I’m sure it’s fine.”

“We might need an expert,” Barry said. “Maybe we should take you back to S.T.A.R Labs? Unless you know where the Legends have gone?”

“Hang on,” Rip said. He fiddled with something on his uninjured wrist. “There’s a time beacon, that’s them.”

“Oh, that’s your time courier thing, right?” Wally asked. “That’s going to be so much easier than Barry and me trying to carry three people at once while time travelling.”

“Great,” Barry said. Rip pressed something on his wrist and a door seemed to open in front of them. The five of them jumped through. “I’ll see if I can find the _Waverider_.”

Barry shot through the town. The _Waverider_ was sitting just outside, and the door was open. Barry shot in.

“Hello, Gideon,” he said.

“Hello, Father,” Gideon said. “I detected the presence of your suit through your communications equipment.”

“It’s good to see you too. Are the Legends aboard?”

“They are in Salvation.”

“I’ll find them. I just need to grab some bandages from your med bay, Rip’s hand is quite burnt.”

“Captain Hunter is alive?”

“He’s fine, dear,” Barry said. He ran to the med bay and opened the drawers until he found bandages. “Are any of these painkillers?”

“The blue pills,” Gideon said.

“Thank you. I’ll grab Rip’s coat too, I’m sure he wants it. And I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Gideon.”

“I will see you soon, Father.”

Barry grabbed the coat from the bridge, then ran back to where the others were still waiting. He put the blue tablets in Rip’s hand and held out the bandages.

“I can do it,” he said. “I’m first aid qualified.”

“Fine,” Rip said. He outstretched his burnt hand and Barry wrapped it. Rip kept wincing.

“That does look really bad. Are you sure Caitlin-”

“I’ll be fine,” Rip said. “The Legends weren’t on the ship?”

“No,” Barry said. “Where are we?”

“Salvation, 1874. They’re in the bar. It’s this way.”

“Is this the Old West?” Cisco asked. “Cool.”

Rip led them through town slowly this time and opened a door. The Legends were all gathered, and some people Barry hadn’t expected to see.

“Hey, guys,” Cisco said. “First things first. What the hell have you been doing?”

“Is that Vibe and both Flashes?” a woman asked. “Director Hunter?”

“Director Sharpe,” Rip said.

“Rip,” Sara said. She hugged him. “We thought you were dead.”

“So did I,” Rip said.

“Kuasa?” Mari asked. “How are you here?”

“Mari? What are you doing here? Since when do you know the Flash?”

“What? I’ve known him since I started, you know that. How are you here? You died.”

“You’re Mari.”

“Oh,” Cisco said. “Amaya, this is Mari McCabe, Mari, this is Amaya Jiwe.”

“You’re my grandmother,” Mari said.

“Yes,” Amaya said.

“Flash,” Sara said. “I assume you four are here because you got our beacon.”

“No,” Barry said. “Because you changed time and Mari’s life is in flux and you maybe almost killed Vibe.”

“I am not dying,” Cisco said. “I have an extremely bad headache and I think my nose is about to start bleeding again, but I am not dying. Probably not dying. You changed time. You know how reckless that is. Even if you ignore that Mari has a life and adoptive parents in Detroit, think of how many people she’s helped as Vixen. Green Arrow would have lost his son without Mari. Monument Point would be underwater thanks to Weather Wizard without Mari, Jax, you must know that, you were there.”

“I think I need to talk to my grandmother,” Mari said. Cisco nodded and Mari stepped away slightly with Amaya.

“Flash, how many of those painkillers did you grab, I think I need some.”

“Here,” Rip said. He handed Cisco one of the pills.

“So,” Wally said. “You’re Director Sharpe, right?”

“Yes.”

“And Martin and Hawkgirl are here.”

“Director Sharpe found us,” Martin said.

“Oh, how’s Hector?” Barry asked. “I haven’t had a chance to come visit yet.”

“I’ll drop by at some point,” Kendra said. “He’s getting big already. And he loves his dinosaur.”

“That’s because dinosaurs are the best,” Barry said. “Runaway Dinosaur was my favourite book, my mother used to read it to me.”

“Iris said there was a reason you’d picked that one. You’re feeling better?”

“Much, thanks.”

“Good.”

“And you have more Legends now?” Wally asked.

“This is Helen of Themyscira,” Zari said. “Formally Troy.”

“And Jonah and I go way back,” Rip said.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Wally said. “I’m the Flash, this is my brother, the Flash, and Vibe.”

“You both have the same name?” Helen asked.

“They have secret identities,” Director Sharpe said.

“You can call him Old Flash if you want. Or Dad Flash. He’s Gideon’s dad.”

“Seriously?” Barry asked.

“I’m not being Kid Flash again, it’s your turn. Hey, Vibe, if Kuasa’s here then Mari...”

“Time is settling,” Cisco said. “Mari is probably going to hang onto her memories for a little longer because we travelled back before it set. I think the Legends are probably going to remember too, since they were directly responsible for the timeline change, but I don’t know how long for, and it is possible I’m wrong.”

“What about you?” Zari asked. “You’re not going to suddenly forget why you’re in the Old West?”

“No, speedsters are slightly better at retaining timeline changes,” Barry said. “It’ll stick around for a while. And Vibe’s, well, Vibe. His powers are linked to time.”

“Do you notice every time someone changes time?” Director Sharpe asked.

“You mean do I frequently get migraines because of this lot and still get nightmares about something called Doomworld where Eobard Thawne, Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk, and Leonard Snart were ruling the world, I think, that Flash was the Flash even though he was Kid Flash at the time but dead, from Iris’ articles she admired Thawne a lot, I think I worked at S.T.A.R. Labs with Jax and Martin and Ray was the janitor, and that Flash didn’t exist at all, his parents had never met? I think I do. But also, the multiverse is so vast, time is so enormous, no human brain can remember it all. I vibe constantly while I sleep, sometimes I remember, more often I forget. I can’t tell you what I vibed last night. I might be able to tell you what Flash might have for lunch tomorrow, but then you have the dilemma of does he choose that because I told him, does he pick something different to prove a point, I only saw one possibility, every moment you are alive, every decision you make, it changes your future, and I can’t tell you exactly how anything will turn out. Also, as soon as we start talking about food...”

“Do they have sandwiches in the Old West?” Barry asked. His stomach rumbled. They had run a long way back in time, and they were currently sitting at a bar over a hundred years before he’d been born. Would Old West sandwiches be any good? Would they have many sandwich options?

“You see the problem?” Cisco asked.

“Wait, am I allowed to eat food from other times? Does that change time? I know being here changes time but eating does too, right? What if I pick up some kind of illness from the sandwich and bring it to the future? Do you guys make sure you don’t have pathogens when you go to other times? Because the common cold mutates every year and it might not be somewhere yet, it could kill people, or what if you go somewhere and pick up smallpox and bring it back to the future and reintroduce it even though it’s been eradicated through vaccination in our time, or what if you get polio or the bubonic plague-”

“Flash,” Wally said. “Why don’t you just sit down.”

“Anyway,” Sara said. “We need people to wield the Totems.”

“That’s not why we’re here,” Director Sharpe said. “We’re here to back you up, not replace you. You’ve helped people. You are the right people for the job.”

“I believe in you, Sara,” Rip said. “And, Flash, Gideon makes sure everything’s fine, and the Time Bureau have protocols.”

“Oh, good,” Barry said. “What Totems? Like Mari’s and Zari’s?”

“Ours and the Earth, Water, Fire, and Death Totems,” Zari said. “Nate used Earth, Jax used Fire, and Sara used Death, and Ray used the Water Totem, but he went off to do something so we really do need someone.”

“Give it to Kuasa,” Mari said. She walked back over with Amaya and Kuasa. “We might share the Anansi Totem now, but Kuasa was so connected to the Water Totem before, it became part of her when she died.”

“Are you okay?” Wally asked.

“Fine,” Mari said. “Nana Baa is going to make sure a few things happen, but I’m fine. Kuasa?”

“I can try,” Kuasa said.

“Guys!” Ray ran in with a woman.

“Ray, what did you do?” Sara asked.

“Damien took Nora’s place as Mallus’ host, she’s completely demon free. How are you?”

“Blackbeard, Caesar, and Freydís- you remember Leif Erikson’s sister- are being controlled by Mallus and have demanded we hand over the Totems,” Nate said. “But we know how to use them now.”

A horse whinnied from outside and Barry looked out the window. An army of Romans, Vikings, and pirates were heading down the street. Huh.

“All right,” Sara said. She stood on her chair. “Listen up, Legends. Mallus has the numbers. Maybe we’re time’s chainsaw, maybe we’re losers, maybe we’re screw ups, but you know what we’re not? We’re not the sort of people who run from a fight. We’re history’s last line of defence. And if Mallus wants these totems, he’s going to have to go through us.”

“What’s the plan, Captain?” Jax asked.

“Amaya, Zari, Nate, Kuasa, Jax, you wait in here. I’m going to take the Totems out there, get the army away from here. Then I’ll bring the Totems back, we’ll make the megazord, fight Mallus, and save the world.” Sara downed a glass full of whiskey. “Jonah, where’s the back door?”

* * *

“Are you four sure about this?” Wally asked.

“I told you, it’s just a sprain,” Mari said. She took the sling off and Cisco tucked it into a pocket hidden in his jacket.

“Time’s settled, I’m fine now,” Cisco said. “I might have been a little short with them.”

“If Jefferson needs me, I’m sure I would be more help out here than in the way in there,” Martin said. “Raymond lent me his shrink ray.”

“I can shoot with my left hand,” Rip said.

“All right,” Wally said. “Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t bring Frost. She would not be happy about any of this.”

“You always show up with some mighty strange friends, Rip,” Jonah said.

The hoard of Romans, Vikings, and pirates came around the corner, chasing Sara and Director Sharpe on horseback.

“Well, this is probably the weirdest day of my life,” Mari said, touched her totem, and charged back.

* * *

Mari may have been right. Sure, he’d fought an army of metahumans from another Earth, an army of telepathic gorillas mostly from another Earth, and an army of aliens who were cross with him for some time travel, but right now Barry was standing next to Helen of Troy who was now an Amazon warrior and who was duelling Blackbeard, while on his other side Mick Rory was having a fist fight with Julius Caesar yelling something about Aruba. And half the Vikings were falling over as the ground underneath them shook and Cisco looked focused while Kendra flew over them and hit any who were still standing.

And then a huge cuddly Beebo toy burst out the saloon.

“Ray?” Barry asked.

“That’s the others,” Ray said.

“That’s Sara and the others?” Director Sharpe asked.

The Beebo leapt at Mallus.

“Is this normal in the future?” Helen asked.

“No,” Wally said. 

“I used to have a Beebo toy,” Cisco said. “My abeula got it for me for Christmas one year. It did not do that.”

“Lily had one,” Martin said. “There was an aberration, that’s why Freydís looks familiar. Jefferson gave her the Beebo because mine was stolen by Vikings.”

“Yeah, Lily never mentioned that. When was it our timeline?”

“Nearly Christmas,” Director Sharpe said.

“Oh, that’s why I didn’t pay attention, we were really busy.”

“That does look like Sara’s stance,” Kendra said. “Do you think they need help?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Rip said. He was holding his hand awkwardly again, and it looked like the bandages were starting to turn red.

Mallus was carrying Beebo- and the Legends- up before Barry could say anything. At least the rest of Mallus’ army was down. Hopefully mostly just unconscious?

But the Legends couldn’t survive a fall from that height. And they were falling.

Barry ran towards them, right as they hit the ground. There was a huge crater where they’d landed, and no sign of Mallus. All that was left of Beebo was flecks of blue fur and stuffing.

And Sara, Jax, Amaya, Zari, Nate, and Kuasa were hugging at the bottom of it. Mari and Kendra flew in to join the hug, and Barry sighed with relief.

* * *

The Time Bureau had shown up to take everyone home. Several people had asked Barry, Wally, and Cisco for photographs.

“How come we’re all losers and you’re a celebrity?” Sara asked.

“Central’s the best,” Barry said. “At least you don’t have Gem Gossip claiming you’re having an affair with Elongated Man.”

“Aww, what?” Cisco asked. “You’re cheating on me?”

“Darling, you know I’d never.”

“Did we change something?” Nate asked.

“No, they just have bad ideas,” Wally said.

“I have missed you guys,” Kendra said.

“We’ve missed you,” Jax said. “You know there’s always a space for you on the ship.”

“Maybe when Hector’s older. But I think St Roch might need me for now.”

“What about you, Rip?” Sara asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You can stick around Central for a while, if you want,” Cisco said. “At least let Caitlin look at your hand.”

“For a little while, maybe,” Rip said.

“Mari?” Wally asked as Mari came back over with Kuasa and Amaya. She seemed happy. “Where are you going?” 

“Zambesi,” Mari said. “From the memories I already have, this timeline isn’t so bad.”

“And we do need to find new bearers for the Totems,” Kuasa said. “You’re sure none of you want them?”

“Nah,” Jax said. “Mick’s gun can handle fire. I’m good with being half of Firestorm.”

“We do have to stop by Detroit first quickly,” Mari said. “Arsenal needs help finding his daughter.”

“He what?” Sara asked.

“He’s doing something with Speedy and Nyssa and found out that fling he had with an assassin resulted in a daughter.”

“Oh, Lian is super cute” Cisco said. “Wait, I think that might be the future? But here.” He offered Mari an extrapolator. “I’ll make you one when we get back to S.T.A.R. Labs too, Kuasa.”

“I need to go back to Zambesi too, Sara,” Amaya said.

“We should go back to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Barry said. “Let you all talk. It’s been an honour, Amaya.”

“And you, Flash.”

“You don’t need a lift?” Zari asked.

“Flash and I can carry Vibe and Rip. You might have to handle everyone else getting home.”

“We’ve got it,” Zari said. Barry smiled, picked up Rip, and ran.

* * *

Caitlin was in the Cortex with Hartley, Barry’s dad, Eddie, Joe, Iris, Linda, Lily, and Laurel when Barry ran in.

“Cisco,” Hartley said.

“Right here,” Cisco said. “Hart, I just fought Vikings in the Old West by starting an earthquake and that’s not even half of what just happened.”

“Why are you covered in blood?” Caitlin asked.

"I had some nosebleeds. Time changed. The Legends are dropping Mari off. I think Rip’s hand is your bigger issue right now.”

“It’s fine,” Rip said.

“Nope,” Barry said. “Here you go, Caitlin.”

“I’m fine.”

“Rip Hunter, you get in there and on that bed this minute,” Caitlin said. Her hair turned white.

“Yes ma’am,” Rip said.

“And you, Francisco.”

“Right away, Doctor Snow,” Cisco said.

“Barry?” his dad asked.

“I’m fine, Dad,” Barry said. “And I actually mean that. Blackbeard tried to stab me but Helen of Themyscria stopped him.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “You’re going to need to explain a few things, Bare.”

* * *

Still no ideas on how to detect DeVoe’s pocket dimensions. Admittedly, they’d only been with the Legends for a few hours and they’d been busy all through that, but still. Cisco was fine. Lily had got a call from her parents that apparently the Legends were in Aruba and they’d be joining them for a few days. Kendra was back home and had sent Barry a picture of Hector and his dinosaur. Babies were cute.

“Maybe we could drop by Earth-2 and see if Harry and Jesse have any ideas?” Cisco said.

“It can’t hurt,” Barry said. Rip walked in. His arm was in a sling and he had a bandage around the end of his arm, but his hand…

“Not fine then,” Cisco said.

“I may have underestimated quite how bad it was,” Rip said. “But it is only my hand.”

“I’ll make you a prosthetic. I already have an idea.”

“We’re not getting anywhere with this right now,” Barry said. “Why don’t you work on that for a while and we’ll pick this up tomorrow?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, course. Are you all right, Rip?”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Rip said. “Thank you for saving me.”

“You’re our friend. I’m going to go find sandwiches, anyone want one?”

* * *

Eddie was browsing apartment listings again. Either he thought Barry hadn’t noticed or he was trying to subtly suggest it. Given he was lying next to Barry in bed and on his phone while Barry was reading, he was going to hazard a guess at subtly suggesting it.

“If you want to go look at somewhere, it’s not like I have to take time off work,” Barry said.

“I haven’t found anywhere that looks perfect yet,” Eddie said. “Besides, we’re busy, and you love living with your dad, we’re not in a hurry.”

“All right. If you’re sure.”

“It’s fine. Any plans for tomorrow?”

“Cisco’s going to jump over to Earth-2 while I meet Detective Heart.”

“He has more questions? Are you sure you can trust him?”

“He’s not asking me questions, I have a few for him, just anything else he might have missed. He just wants to find out what happened to his brother.”

“If you’re sure. You know Captain Singh is going to get you your job back.”

“Maybe. But I can still do this too.”

“I know.”

“Tell you what.” Barry closed his book and put it on his bedside table. “Stop looking at apartments. Look at houses.”

“We can’t afford that.”

“Why not? You have a paying job. I had one, and I have some money saved up, you just said I’m going to get my job back. We can get a mortgage. We don’t have to look at somewhere big. You said we could consider buying instead of renting. I’m twenty-nine, you’re thirty-one, we’re old enough to be looking at buying a house. And you said somewhere we could grow lettuce for McSnurtle, we could do that if we had even a tiny garden. We could grow all sorts of vegetables.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. We can go to the estate agents and ask after I talk to August tomorrow, if you want. Or we can wait a while. But if you find somewhere, we’ll go and look. I love you.”

“I love you too. We should probably talk to the bank first.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you lunch tomorrow, and we can go to the bank, see how feasible it is?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds- That sounds great, Barry.”

“Besides, even if I don’t get my job back, I can take Ralph up on his offer and be his partner, or I can take Cisco and Hartley up and work full time at S.T.A.R. Labs, or I can look for something completely different. I could be a C.S.I. in Keystone, it’s not like I have to worry about the commute.”

“But we are going to stop DeVoe and you are going to get it back.”

“Yes,” Barry said.

He just wasn’t sure how yet.

* * *

August seemed nice. Barry just got an electric shock every time they touched hands, like the Speed Force was calling out to him. And he had to tell him they hadn’t heard anything about Black Hole. They had been focused on DeVoe, but Ralph and Barry had both been looking. There didn’t seem to be anything. And there had been no sign of Amunet Black since she’d shown up at Iron Heights, and there were no leads on her either.

“It’s taken me months just to get to Blacksmith,” August said. “I wasn’t expecting anything soon.”

“I am sorry. We’ll keep looking.”

“I haven’t found anything new either, so there’s nothing I can give you.”

“Actually, there might be, for a different case,” Barry said. “Did anyone on your list go missing the day I was found?”

August racked his brain a moment, then checked his notebook.

“Just one maybe,” he said. “Edwin Gauss, he doesn’t fit the pattern exactly, he’s been dropping on and off the radar his whole life, but I remember talking to a bus driver who almost drove into a wormhole, he said he had twelve passengers when he got on, but only eleven got off, and then he was found-”

“Dead,” Barry said. “Yeah, that is exactly who we’re looking for, the people on that bus, they’re the people DeVoe has been going after.”

“How do you know that?”

“Becky Sharpe, Dominic Lanse, Izzy Bowin, Mina Chaytan, Ramsey Deacon, Sylbert Rundine, and Janet Petty all had one thing in common, they were all on the same bus back in October.”

“There were eleven other people on that bus, that’s only seven.”

“There’s a couple who are nice, but obviously don’t really want their names out there because they’re metas, and, well. Iris and Ralph found the others, you should meet Iris.”

“She’s a journalist.”

“Yes, investigative reporter. But Amunet Black is kidnapping metahumans, and Iris is the only person I know who has stood up to General Eiling twice. People should know the truth. Especially metahumans who might be in danger.”

“Not all metas are criminals,” August said.

“And the ones who are are still human beings,” Barry said.

“I know. There’s nothing else you want to talk about?”

“I actually have to run, I’m meeting Eddie, we’re going to the bank to ask about mortgages. But I’ll call you?”

“I look forward to it.”

* * *

August was right. Edwin Gauss was not someone who was easily found. At least seeing his picture had jogged Ralph’s memory enough he remembered seeing him. They just weren’t having any luck finding him.

* * *

Everyone was in the Cortex when Hartley presented his idea a few days later.

“It’s a big tuning fork,” he said. “We saw Izzy Bowin’s powers hurt him. My gauntlets also use sound, but because they’re electronic...”

“Kilgore’s powers mean they don’t work, and neither does Laurel’s Canary Cry,” Cisco said.

“Exactly. But this vibrates at the same frequency and should amplify the sound waves enough to at least knock him off his feet. I’ve also been fiddling with my flute, adjusted the pitch. It doesn’t quite work the same way, but I might be able to pull a few tricks with it.”

“Failing that, you can always hit DeVoe over the head with it,” Ralph said.

“Perhaps,” Hartley said. “Cisco?”

“Ta dah,” Cisco said. He directed everyone’s attention to a screen hanging on the wall. “These are all the pocket dimensions that have opened up since we’ve been tracking them. And I think, with Harry, Jesse, and Barry’s help, I have written a programme which should hopefully detect as one is about to open, giving Barry and Wally enough time to run there and hopefully the rest of us breach if everyone keeps their extrapolators on them.”

“And we also know the name of the last bus meta,” Iris said. “Edwin Gauss. The bad news is so far he’s been impossible to find. Which at least means DeVoe is going to be having problems too, but it means we can’t find him to warn him and keep him safe.”

“How’s your DeVoe investigation going?” Laurel asked.

“We’re working on it,” Linda said. “So far there hasn’t been anything new.”

* * *

There not being anything new seemed to be the way everything was going, and it was all so frustrating. They had no idea what DeVoe’s endgame was. Amunet Black had vanished without a trace and they had no idea if she was still in the city or laying low elsewhere or still involved in all her awful stuff. He didn’t have any leads on what or who Black Hole was either, or what Jorge Heart had actually been investigating, other than it was somehow linked to Amunet Black, and Kyle Nimbus among others had disappeared from Iron Heights. August said himself he wasn’t sure how many of the names were involved all in the one investigation and how many were just Officer Heart refusing to rule anyone out until he had definitive proof. And even Barry couldn’t do everything at once with all his speed, but he should be able to, people were getting hurt in his city and he was supposed to be the hero, he was supposed to protect them, and he couldn’t, he was letting everyone down.

“Flash?”

Barry rubbed his eyes a little before turning around, just in case. Danica Williams was standing in the door to the Time Vault.

“Hi,” he said. “Everything okay on Earth-3?”

“Yes,” she said. “Is everything okay with you?”

“I’m just preoccupied. What’s up?”

“The Speed Force just got really loud for a minute, and they stopped again. You didn’t hear anything?”

“Your connection to the Speed Force is different to mine. You said you heard me while I was in there, Wally didn’t. I think you’re the only one. When they want to talk to me, they pull me into the Speed Force and talk. They look like different people, but usually they look like my mother.”

“Jay said so. He said he’d never seen them do that before, not until he met you. He said they’re alive?”

“Not in the same way we are, but yes, they’re sentient. They think and I think they feel. I think they care about us.”

“Are you always Barry?”

“What do you mean?”

“One of the voices called themselves Bart Allen. It’s a new one and they disappeared again really quickly, but I didn’t know if it was you.”

“No, I’ve never been Bart. Maybe it was a doppelganger. I know Earth-2 Barry is also Barry, Earth-3 I don’t have a doppelganger, you know that, I don’t think I have one on Earth-38, that’s where my friend Supergirl lives, if I do they’re not called Bartholomew Allen. But there are a lot of worlds out there. Sometimes we have doppelgangers, sometimes we don’t.”

“You’ve never met my doppelganger.”

“No. Maybe you don’t have one on my Earth. Maybe they have a different name. Maybe they don’t. If I’m honest, Danica, I haven’t looked. I know you and no matter what the other Danica Williams are like, you seem pretty cool.”

“When you were in the Speed Force you said I could be a great hero one day.”

“I don’t remember, but it isn’t hard to imagine it. Are you sticking around?”

“I should get back to Jay. He’s teaching me how to phase.”

“Good luck.”

Danica smiled and darted out again. Barry waited for a moment, then turned his attention back to his project. He fiddled with some more wires.

“All right,” he whispered. “Come on, sweetheart. You can do it. I really need your help, and you did say I’d see you soon.”

A few wires fizzled. Maybe he could finish later. He could do with a pre-dinner snack.

* * *

Jitters had a reasonable queue. Great. He could speed through, he guessed, but maybe he could do with a few minutes just waiting, focusing on something to stop his mind racing.

Not that his mind ever stopped racing.

The woman in front of him seemed to be bouncing slightly.

“Are you okay?” Barry asked.

“Just nervous,” she said. She seemed a little familiar somehow. Thick auburn hair, bright blue eyes, a few freckles. Maybe he’d met her before. He had met a lot of people as the Flash. “I’ve never really been in a coffee shop before.”

“You picked a good one to start in.”

“My uncle speaks very fondly of this place. He didn’t give me any recommendations though, I’m visiting with my step-cousin and she’s dropped by a few times, the Flash is her go-to drink and I’ve just been getting the same, but I didn’t realise there were quite so many different types of coffee. And they really called one the Zoom? Wasn’t he a supervillain?”

“Yeah, you’d think they’d leave him off the list after everything he did.” Barry tried not to shudder. Jitters had even been the place he’d- Well, he completely understood why they’d had a few complaints about that name, and if they even considered naming one after Eobard, he would be the first to complain. “I mean, I’m not even sure why they started naming them after people, but if you want a recommendation for one of those, I quite like the Vibe. There’s a fair amount of caffeine and sugar in it though. The Pied Piper is decaf if that’s better.”

“Oh. Thanks. I’m sure I’ll pop back at some point; I could give both a try. I could use the caffeine right now though; it’s been a long week.”

“Same here. I think you’re up.”

“Thanks. It was nice talking to you.”

“You too.”

She smiled and headed up to the counter to order a Flash and a Vibe. Barry took the opportunity to quickly look over the baked goods selection. They had brownies. Brownies were always nice.

* * *

Edwin Gauss had to be somewhere. But even Felicity hadn’t been able to find anything.

An alarm blared.

“Barry, pocket dimension opening,” Cisco said.

He ran out the Time Vault and grabbed his suit.

* * *

“So, Edwin Gauss can open pocket dimensions,” Eddie said.

“His own pocket dimension,” Cisco said. “And until I can work out how to tell which of these are Gauss and which are DeVoe, I’m not sure what to do.”

“Are there any hotspots outside of DeVoe’s house?” Barry asked.

“A few,” Hartley said. “Why?”

“Because I think it might be where we can start looking for Edwin Gauss.”

“There’s a few over in New Brighton,” Cisco said. “Hang on. There’s a library on Falmer Road, it looks like it’s there. That’s a post office. There’s quite a few up in the hills in Granite Peak?”

“We should start there,” Ralph said. “That doesn’t sound like somewhere DeVoe would hang around.”

“I’ll go with you,” Barry said.

“I’ll come too,” Caitlin said.

“And we’ll check out some of the other places,” Lily said.

* * *

There was a camp at the coordinates Cisco had given them. Mostly hippies.

“Excuse me,” Barry said. He pulled out a picture of Edwin Gauss. “Have you seen this man?”

“I might have,” the man said. “Who are you?”

Barry gestured at his suit. Izzy hadn’t listened when they’d shown up as Ralph Dibny and Barry Allen but had when they’d shown up as Elongated Man and the Flash, maybe Mister Gauss would be more inclined to listen to Elongated Man, Frost, and the Flash too. And it was faster to run, and he needed his suit for that.

“You could be anyone under that mask.”

“I could,” Barry said. He vibrated and felt the lightning ripple across his skin and across his eyes. “I’m really the Flash though. We think Mister Gauss could be in danger.”

“He’s usually around,” the man said. “Unless he’s folded away. Do you want to join us on a reflection hike?”

“Maybe some other time. We really do need to find Mister Gauss, it’s important.”

“You’re welcome to look around.”

“Thank you.”

Barry, Ralph, and Caitlin wandered around the camp as everyone else started getting ready for their hike.

There.

“Mister Gauss,” Barry said. Edwin Gauss startled and stumbled back and- “Wait, please, we have to talk to you. You’re in danger.”

“From the flying ninja?” Edwin Gauss asked. Barry turned around to see another Samaroid flying at them.

“Yes,” he said. “Exactly.”

Barry pulled him out the way of Samaroid’s path. Caitlin threw a stream of ice towards the robot, and cried out as the sword went through her side.

“Frost!” Ralph shouted. Barry ran up a tree, pushed himself off, and threw a lightning bolt at Samaroid. It shattered, and he grabbed Caitlin.

“Get Edwin to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Barry said. He shot off.

* * *

Caitlin’s wound had already healed over by the time Barry got her into the Cortex. His dad was still going to check her over, but she seemed fine. And Ralph had breached in with Edwin, and Hartley was handling that.

“He’s not going to stop,” Ralph said.

“We’ll stop him,” Barry said.

“And then what? You’ll arrest him? Send him to the metawing? He’s been one step ahead for months. And you don’t want to send anyone else there. You already let Mina Chaytan get away.”

“She promised not to hurt anyone. And she’s safer with the Rogues. They look after their own.”

“Allen.”

“What do you want me to say? I’m never sending anyone to the metawing ever again? I don’t want to. It’s awful in there. I would not wish that on Eobard Thawne. But right now, what’s the alternative?”

“You stop him permanently.”

“No.”

“He’s killed people. You expect him to stop?”

“There is another way.”

“What if there isn’t?”

“There is always another way.”

“Was there another way with Zoom?”

“You want to go there? Clyde Mardon. Danton Black. Tony Woodward. Farooq Gibran. Albert Rothstein and Eddie Slick of Earth-2. Ronnie Raymond, Martin Stein, and Cisco Ramon of Earth-2. Bette Sans Souci. Hunter Zoloman. Izzy Bowin, Becky Sharpe, Ramsey Deacon, and Sylbert Rundine. Nora Allen. Do you want me to go on?”

“What are you doing?”

“Listing all the deaths that are my fault.”

“They’re not all-”

“Really? I can keep going if you want. Calum Weire. John Certo. Teresa Howard. Mason Bridge.”

“Barry. I don’t know who all these people are, but the ones I do know, I know they aren’t all your fault.”

“Try convincing my conscience of that. And what you are talking about isn’t letting Time Wraiths handle it so you can pretend your hands are clean. It wouldn’t be self-defence; you’re already planning it. It would be murder. You really want to live with that? There has to be another way. There has to.”

“And if there isn’t.”

“This isn’t a debate, Ralph. That is a line I do not want to cross. There is an alternative and I will find it.”

“Barry,” Cisco stuck his head in. “I need you, now.”

* * *

They were too late. Hamish Doyle was lying on the floor, and Janet Petty was gone. Patty already had gloves on.

“This was the Thinker,” Cisco said.

“It seems that way,” Captain Singh said. “Vibe...”

“We already know who he wants,” Cisco said. “Piper and Frost have gone to keep an eye on Melting Pot, we can’t get a hold of the Weeper, Mina Chaytan is with the Rogues, Neil Borman is with Tracy Brand, Black Canary has gone to check on them, and the last two bus metas are currently at S.T.A.R. Labs with the other Flash. We have a plan, but...”

“We’ll stop him, Captain,” Barry said. “That is a promise.”

* * *

Ralph was in Caitlin’s lab. Wally had knocked him out.

“I didn’t mean to,” Wally said. “He had the tuning fork and Edwin can get into DeVoe’s lair, and Ralph was planning on...”

“I know,” Barry said. “I’ll talk to him again.”

He stepped into Caitlin’s lab. At least Ralph was awake again, even if he was rubbing his jaw.

“Your sidekick’s got a good punch.”

“Wally isn’t my sidekick. We’re partners.”

“He seems to have the exact same opinions you do.”

“Not always. When it comes to taking a life? What were you thinking, Ralph?”

“DeVoe threatened all of you,” Ralph said. “He spoke to me through the Samaroid. You want to save my soul, I get it. Which would you choose, Barry? Your soul or Wally? Iris. Eddie. Cisco, Hartley, Caitlin, Lily, Laurel, Linda, Joe, Henry, Cecile, what would you do if the choice was take a life or lose them all?”

“I don’t know.”

“He has taken enough lives. I won’t let him take yours too.”

“There has to be another way.”

“He has made you suffer enough. What, you want him to live so he can?”

“No! No, that’s not- It is not my place to decide who lives and who dies. That is not on me. I have made mistakes in the past and I don’t want anyone else to make the same ones.”

“The Legends have done it. Was it the wrong decision then? Sara’s an assassin. Oliver’s done it.”

“I know. And they made their own decisions. I should let you make yours. But if you do it once, where do you stop? How do you decide who deserves it and who doesn’t? Maybe DeVoe deserves it. Does Marlize? She’s been helping him. What about Amunet Black? She’s done unquestionably evil things. The people who have helped her, do they? General Eiling, Grodd, where is the line? And if there isn’t a line, how are you different?”

“He killed Janet Petty.”

“Yes.”

“He will hurt all of you because of me.”

“Yeah. Makes a change. Usually when someone’s hurting my family it’s my fault.” Barry laughed and ignored the tears in his eyes. “Here’s the thing. Good isn’t a thing you are. It’s a thing you do. Every moment of your life you have a choice. To do good, or not. And sometimes you screw up and that’s okay, that’s normal, it’s human, you just have to apologise and make another decision. You have become a hero by choosing good over and over this year. Don’t make the wrong decision now. You really want to do this? I get it. He has been hurting my family too. You are one of us now, you’re family. I understand this is hard. But make the decision that feels right.”

* * *

Eddie and Joe were still at work. Barry kept thinking back to Hamish’s body lying there. He should have been there. He should have been able to do something.

Ralph was right, DeVoe wasn’t going to stop until he had what he wanted. And right now, he was hurting people to get it. Barry couldn’t let him do that. His job was to protect the people of Central. Clearly, he hadn’t been doing a very good job lately.

But maybe Ralph’s idea wasn’t completely terrible.

“No,” Cisco said. “No, it was terrible.”

“I don’t mean go kill him, obviously,” Barry said. “I mean if Edwin can get us into his secret lair, we can surprise him and arrest him.”

“Still doesn’t sound fantastic.”

“Maybe we should let Cisco come up with a Spider-Man plan,” Iris said.

“I can’t think of one,” Cisco said. “I could go reread all the comics.”

“Yeah, we can just hope DeVoe doesn’t go find Mina or Melting Pot while you go reread every Spider-Man comic ever,” Barry said.

“Fair point,” Cisco said. “If a little harsh. So we all go break into DeVoe’s lair.”

“Not all of us. Hartley, Caitlin, and Laurel are probably better keeping an eye on things, just in case. And bringing Ralph sounds like it’s a bad idea. But Hartley and Lily made two tuning forks, right?”

“Hartley has something that will work.”

“So you two and Wally,” Iris said. “Cisco, where are Linda’s Doctor Light gloves?”

“My lab,” Cisco said. “Okay. Okay. Yeah. It’s something. I’m down. I’ll go find Wally.”

“I’ll find Edwin,” Barry said.

* * *

Only DeVoe had seen it coming. It was just a hologram. Just a hologram. And they didn’t have a way to contact Edwin and they couldn’t get out again and Cisco was trying to breach but pocket dimensions worked differently. And he was clearly hurting and still pushing himself, but Wally had tried to get the computer to work and hadn’t been able to.

Iris, Linda, Lily, and Barry’s dad were all at S.T.A.R. Labs. Linda’s gloves weren’t actually designed to be used in a fight. She almost never used them. And Ralph was there, Ralph could look after them but Ralph was also the one DeVoe wanted. Cisco was right, this was a bad idea, they shouldn’t have done this-

Marlize DeVoe and the floating chair appeared and Cisco froze the breach open with his vibes. Marlize had a sword, there was blood on it-

“Hurry,” Cisco said. He ripped the way home back open with a scream and Barry and Wally grabbed him and ran straight into the Cortex.

“Iris!” Wally said. She slumped down right as Cisco collapsed against Barry.

“Barry, Ralph’s downstairs,” his dad said. “Go.”

Barry ran to the Speed Lab.

To where Ralph was standing with his hand on Edwin’s shoulder, only Edwin was in power dampening handcuffs.

“Did you...”

“One Thinker all ready for Iron Heights,” Ralph said. “Another way, right?”

“Maybe not this time,” DeVoe said. He held up his hands. The handcuffs were glowing purple not blue, wait that-

Barry was flung back as DeVoe shook his hands free. Izzy’s powers. And then it was like he was being crushed. He couldn’t get up, couldn’t breathe, everything was so heavy. And DeVoe had a hand on Ralph’s head and Ralph wasn’t moving.

“Ms Petty’s powers are quite fascinating, aren’t they, Mister Allen? I must say, your reaction to them was almost unexpected, but I want you conscious for this.”

"No, please," Barry begged. He couldn't move.

“You did manage to find Mister Gauss sooner than I expected, I’ll give you that. And you have rather forced my hand in regards to Mister Dibny.”

"DeVoe, please, let him go, Ralph, I'll save you, I'll-"

"It's okay, rookie," Ralph said. "I know you can stop him. You're a hero, Barry."

"No, Ralph, Ralph!"

Gauss dropped to the floor and Ralph's body straightened.

“No matter,” DeVoe said. “I have the ones I need. I’ll be seeing you, Mister Allen.”


	16. The Central City Citizen

“Barry!” Iris ran into the Speed Lab with Rip and Zari right as a breach closed. A woman nodded and a small boy ran to Rip and jumped into his arms.

“Daddy! Uncle Barry came to visit!”

“Jonas,” Rip said. He clutched the boy- Jonas, his son- tight. “Oh, my Jonas.”

“Rip,” the woman- that had to be Miranda- said. “What’s going on?”

“I think we should talk outside,” Rip said. He looked at Barry.

“Daddy, what happened to your hand?” Jonas asked.

“We’ll go see Uncle Cisco,” Rip said. “Iris-”

“I’ve got it,” Iris said. Rip left with his family. “Barry.”

“What? Zari said as long as Rip thinks they’re dead then time will remain intact. I can time travel. I have this gift; shouldn’t I use it to save people and fix things? The Legends changed time because they felt like it. We already promised to help Zari change time. We changed it last year.”

“Ralph didn’t blame you.”

“Well, maybe he should have. I should have done more. Shouldn’t have tried that plan. It was me who gave the bus metas powers and now ten people are dead because of me.”

“We were the ones who got you out the Speed Force.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have.”

“Barry-”

“No more time travel. Is that what you want me to say, Iris? Fine, no more messing with time.”

He shot out the Speed Lab in a streak of lightning.

“He’s really not okay,” Zari said.

“It’s only been a week since we lost Ralph,” Iris said.

“What happened?”

“Cisco, Barry, and Wally went to DeVoe’s pocket dimension,” Iris said. “And both DeVoes used Edwin’s breach as a way of getting into S.T.A.R. Labs. Lily, Linda, Henry, and I were in Cisco’s lab at the time. DeVoe used Ramsey Deacon’s powers to try and trap us in there, but there are a lot of things in Cisco’s lab which blow up when you throw them. Lily grabbed the Cold Gun and Linda grabbed her gloves from when she pretended to be Doctor Light. That was with Zoom, I don’t know-”

“I know what gloves you mean,” Zari said. “Future things.”

“The two of them dealt with the Samaroid the DeVoes brought. I fought Marlize. She had a sword, I had Harry’s pulse rifle, it could have gone better. I did manage to get her and the chair back to their pocket dimension, and Cisco breached them home using the breach that was momentarily opened, but I’d been stabbed, and Cisco collapsed, and Barry ran to find Ralph and DeVoe while Wally helped Henry with the two of us, and by the time Wally ran into the Speed Lab, DeVoe was gone in Ralph’s body, and Barry was paralysed on the floor. DeVoe had made him watch again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I should have known he was rushing things. He’d just got back from where DeVoe had killed Janet Petty and Doyle. Barry liked Hamish. He never doubted Barry was innocent. He wasn’t thinking straight. We should have waited.”

“It wasn’t your fault either,” Zari said. “He would have done this eventually.”

“You know the future.”

“I didn’t know this was coming. I knew DeVoe was bad. But I don’t know how much of what I know about your futures is historical fact and how much is stories. And what I do know, I don’t know how much I can tell you without damaging the timeline, and I don’t know how much has changed.”

“Changed? Because we’ve also been trying to prevent your future.”

“Not just that. I’ve been talking to Gideon a lot. Your timeline is reaching a point of flux. I don’t know everything, I don’t know how much I can and can’t tell you, but I’ll work on it.”

“Thanks for coming.”

“I thought it was the sort of call you should know about. He sounded upset but...”

“He’s not been sleeping. I talked to Eddie; he’s barely been home. He just shuts himself away in the Time Vault for hours and only emerges when there’s an emergency. And I don’t know how to help him. I barely know how to deal with my own grief while also trying to stop DeVoe, and set up a newspaper, and Amunet Black is in hiding but probably still working and that is unacceptable. Maybe it’s not the right time.”

“It’s a little earlier than I remember,” Zari said. “But the Citizen is important. Your articles will inspire people for decades after you’ve written them. That I will promise you. If you want someone to talk to.”

“Thanks, Zari.”

* * *

Miranda was easy to find. Apparently Jonas was helping Rip and Cisco test Cisco’s latest prosthetic prototype.

“Rip explained everything,” Miranda said. “It’s been six years for him. We’ve been dead for six years for Rip and I can’t change that. We should be dead. But I can’t put Jonas back there. We can’t go home.”

“You can stay with us,” Iris said.

“You’ve offered that so many times. I should have accepted before. You must have known our future, just like we knew yours.”

“Maybe.”

“Time wants to happen.”

“Rip says that too.”

“We were raised by the Time Masters. It was one of the first things we learnt.”

“From the Time Masters.”

“Yes.”

“They were manipulating the timeline themselves though. They were using something, the Occulus, I don’t know exactly what it was, but Leonard Snart died to destroy it. Maybe it was never about time. Maybe it was always just what they wanted. The Legends have changed time a lot. They never stopped Eobard, and look at what he did.”

“Speedsters are difficult. There was a lot of time travelling as part of what they said was set history, and there are Time Wraiths, and they couldn’t interfere with the Flash too much. A lot of their technology comes from you. You already know they have Gideon. As far as I know chronologically the first fully functioning time ship was built at least partly by Doctor Lily Stein. Others too, I don’t know their names. The only reason Rip and I knew Barry and you was Gideon, and if anyone had found out...”

“They’re gone. No one’s going to find out. And if they do show up, they will have to get through us before they get near any of you, especially Jonas.”

“These Legends.”

“They’re friends. They’ve had fallings out, but they do care about Rip a lot. I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

“Perhaps one day. I don’t know where Barry went.”

“I’ll find him.”

* * *

The Time Vault was covered in bits and pieces, screws, screwdrivers, and Barry was sitting cross-legged on the floor tinkering.

“I know, I screwed up.”

“Please talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say, Iris?”

“Anything. I know. I know you were right there and that makes it different, but you’re not alone, Barry, we all lost Ralph.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t your stupid idea-”

“You did not make that decision alone. We had no idea that DeVoe would know. I think you need to stop. Stop whatever this is you’re doing and just give yourself a chance to cry and grieve.”

“I don’t have time for that. There are four other bus metas still out there. I will not let DeVoe hurt them too.”

“You aren’t the only hero in Central City.”

“I know, you don’t need-”

“This isn’t about that!” Iris took a deep breath. “Barry. You are my best friend. I love you. I understand you are hurting which is why you are so caught in your own head and not thinking of anyone else. This is not and will never be that Central doesn’t need you. DeVoe has killed people. He is not the only person to do that. Ten people are dead because we- plural- have not found a way to stop him yet. And a million people are alive because you stopped a bomb destroying Central and Keystone. You have literally saved the world before, more than once, and you have saved so many people. But you are not going to be able to do anything if you don’t take care of yourself, physically and mentally.”

“Have you done?”

“Are you even listening?”

“I get it, Zari called you when I asked her about loopholes because I wasn’t subtle enough, but I need to keep looking to find one to-”

“Time travel isn’t the way to save him.”

“Because DeVoe made me watch and I can’t find a way yet.”

“Maybe there isn’t one this time. Maybe this time there was nothing you could have done.”

“I was right there. Again. That’s five people he has killed right in front of me and I haven’t been able to do anything. I’m supposed to be the hero.”

“You are. But you’re hurting. You’ve been hurting for a long time. You can’t deal with this on your own.” Iris sat down too, and put her hand on Barry’s knee. “You were seeing Doctor Finkel again before you went into the Speed Force.”

“You want me to waste time going to therapy when DeVoe is still out there and we have no idea what he’s doing.”

“It’s not a waste of time if it helps you feel better.”

“Maybe I don’t deserve to feel better.”

“If it were anyone else, would you say that?”

“No.”

“Then why are you saying it about yourself? Why are you holding yourself to a different standard than everyone else?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“Maybe. I was wrong last year. I should have talked to Caitlin and Dad sooner. I needed to talk to them. I didn’t want to hurt them, but it was hurting me.”

“I shouldn’t have told you.”

“I am glad that you did. And I know we all have things we haven’t dealt with. But PTSD wouldn’t be a new idea for you.”

“Oliver went-”

“Through something different, and trauma isn’t comparable like you’re trying. And Oliver came back from Lian Yu with a fixation and a bow and arrow and still refuses to talk about anything that happened, I would not consider Oliver a shining example of dealing with trauma.”

“Then Rip-”

“Has tried to sacrifice himself, more than once according to Jax, and I know you know what that sounds like, and is currently dealing with alcoholism.”

“Kara lost her whole planet.”

“And I haven’t spoken to Kara about that so I don’t know, but I imagine she’s talked to her cousin, Alex, and J’onn. That also wasn’t last week.”

“I have dealt with death before. I know what I’m doing.”

“That doesn’t make it easier, Barry. It doesn’t lessen how much it hurts. It adds to it and you know it. Ralph was a part of this team. Maybe we hadn’t known him for long, except you and Dad, but we all cared about him and it hurts. Do you remember when my appendix burst?”

“Why?”

“You collapsed too. Had a bad panic attack. Your first for quite a while.”

“Because you were in surgery and I was terrified.”

“I know. But it had been building up for a while. We were seventeen. You were worried about exams, and picking a college, and affording one because you didn’t have much from Nora and Henry and you hated the idea of asking Dad for help, and you were scared about turning eighteen because Dad would no longer be your legal guardian and you had no idea what that meant but you’d somehow got it into your head him throwing you out now he wasn’t obligated to look after you was a possibility, and you just bottled everything up until you exploded.”

“I was an idiot.”

“You were a teenager. We both were. And you were going through a lot. Remember I was so indecisive about what I wanted to do I took a year out?”

“You wanted to be a detective but Joe didn’t like that idea, and you took a year out to work at Jitters full time so you could save up enough to at least partly pay for college yourself even though Joe had been saving since the day you were born.”

“He’d saved for you too.”

“Eobard paid for it.”

“You still earnt your place there. Didn’t you set a record as the only person from Central High to ever get a perfect score in Chemistry?”

“And you got the highest English and French results in our year.”

“You remember your evening job at the corner shop?”

“Mrs Hunt was nice and let me work shifts around lectures and gave me weekends off. And Doris was in half my lectures, she was nice, she’s engaged to Peter now, she was the one who told me her ma was looking for some help as long as I could lift heavy boxes.”

“A lot has happened since then.”

“Yes.”

“I started looking for someone to talk to while you were in the Speed Force. I got distracted, I guess, but Doctor Finkel gave me a few numbers when I told her you were gone and wouldn’t make it to your session.”

“She’s probably busy.”

“Maybe she’s not.”

“I guess trying can’t make anything worse.”

“Trying is all you ever need to do.”

* * *

Zari and Lily were talking to Miranda when Iris stuck her head into the Cortex. Wally had said earlier Henry was helping Cisco with Rip’s hand, and Hartley was teaching Jonas chess. Wally, Linda, and Caitlin were working on something too.

“Hey,” Iris said. “Barry and I are just popping out. We’ll probably be a couple of hours.”

“Everything okay?” Caitlin asked.

“It’s fine. Got a thing. Probably best to call me, not him, if you need us.”

“All right. Good luck.”

Iris nodded and Barry trailed after her out to her car.

“You don’t have to drive me,” he said.

“You don’t have to go on your own. I’ll wait in Jitters, and if you need me, I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks, Iris.” Barry’s phone rang. “Hi August. He was? Oh. Ralph’s not available right now, and I can’t stay long, but Iris and I are just on our way to Jitters, we’ll be about twenty minutes, would that be okay? Great. We’ll be there soon.” Barry hung up. “I forgot Ralph was supposed to meet August today.”

“I can do that for you. It’ll be all right.”

* * *

Barry was almost vibrating when they walked into Jitters. Iris just hoped no one noticed the static build up around him.

“August, hi,” Barry said. “I am so sorry, I have an appointment I have to get to, but this is my friend Iris.”

“Nice to meet you,” Detective Heart said.

“Likewise,” Iris said. “Barry?”

“Right,” Barry said. “I am so sorry; I have to go.”

“I’ll catch up with you soon,” August said. Barry nodded and darted out, thankfully at normal speeds. “Is he okay?”

“Anxiety and stress,” Iris said. “He’s been getting progressively worse since Iron Heights.”

“That makes sense. I know I only caught a glimpse, but what I did see...” August shook his head. “I’m on my lunch break if you want to get a coffee and talk?”

“That sounds great. I hear you’re considering transferring to work with my dad.”

“I’ve heard good things. Barry and Ralph both speak very highly of you too. I hear you and Ms Park are trying to get the Citizen going?”

“That’s the plan.” They reached the counter and ordered drinks. “So, was there something specific you needed to talk to Ralph about?”

“Just an update,” August said. He sat at a table. “Barry said he’s unavailable.”

“Yes.”

“It is rather sensitive information I’d prefer to discuss with him.”

“Of course. Then perhaps I can ask you a few questions about Amunet Black.”

“Talking to the press about a case is not in my job description.”

“I know. My dad’s a detective, and my friend. But she isn’t being investigated by you or anyone else, is she, that’s why Barry suggested you talk to Ralph. And you spoke to Linda.”

“I was under the impression it was being handled by other agencies.”

“Didn’t you think it was suspicious the military was invested? Wade Eiling and I have met before. I’d be willing to bet he’s not looking to take Black out of the picture.”

“I actually have a few questions for you too. When you were investigating her, did you hear the name Black Hole?”

“No. But I was investigating Weeper. Her other business is a more recent focus.”

“I know you know Daniel West.”

“I haven’t seen him for a while, he didn’t make it to my wedding, but he sent a card. I did call and ask him about you when Barry mentioned it, he was just confused over the whole thing.”

“What about Meena Dhawan?”

“The name rings a bell.”

“She was a professor at Central City University.”

“She taught Wally and Tracy, she was absent a lot of his last semester and he was concerned but obviously with Barry disappearing he was a little distracted.”

“Did you ever meet Joey Monteleone? He was caught by the Flash because he went after Clark Bronwen who you put in Iron Heights.”

“And I assume he’s no longer in Iron Heights.”

“No. His brother was the one on Jorge’s list, but I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I know you know Barry. Have you ever met Doctor Darwin Elias?”

“I can’t say I recognise the name.”

“Can you ask your brother?”

“You think Wally is somehow connected to this. My Wally.”

“Jorge’s notes are a mess. So many of the cases he found seem to have no links, so when a handful are linked to one person, it’s something I should question. Can you think of any reason Amunet Black or any related parties might be interested in your brother?”

“If they’re looking for efficient biofuel engines, but I doubt it.”

“Then what about Clifford DeVoe?”

“I think he threatened Wally because he knew Barry would do what he wanted if he did. That wasn’t about Wally, that was about Barry. Wally lives with a lawyer, our father is a detective, I am an investigative journalist, as is his girlfriend, Barry is a forensic scientist dating another detective, I would hope that if there was anything odd happening around Wally, anyone following him, one of us would notice. I already plan to take down Amunet Black’s entire operation, if she dares lay a hand on my little brother...”

“She kidnapped your wife.”

“Caitlin is a doctor. Thanks to Leonard Snart, it isn’t a secret she’s helped the Flash before. This makes her possibly the only doctor in the Gem Cities who has knowingly treated a metahuman. S.T.A.R. Labs research the metagene. That’s why she wanted Caitlin. This Black Hole. You think they’re doing something similar to Black?”

“They’re connected somehow,” August said. “I can’t give you police information.”

“And I won’t ask you to. But perhaps you can point me in the right direction, and I’ll let you know what I find.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Mrs West-Snow.” He offered his hand over the table and Iris shook it. “From what I’ve heard, Black and her whole operation have been lying low since Iron Heights.”

“I haven’t been able to find anything new either. But I will. She isn’t getting away with this.”

“Good. I should get back to work.”

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

“I hope so.”

August nodded and left. Iris had brought her laptop. She could do some work while she was waiting for Barry.

* * *

Barry was almost due to be done and Iris was queuing to get them both drinks when she almost walked into a young woman.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “Oh dear, I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Iris said. “Really. Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said. “Just clumsy. Oh, it’s your go.”

“Thanks. Can I have two Black Canaries, and two of your blueberry muffins, please? To take away this time, for Iris.”

“Coming right up,” the barista said. Iris stepped away. The other woman must have been waiting too, because she was still stood there with no coffee.

“You’re Iris West-Snow, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Have we met?”

“No, but I met your friend, Barry Allen, in here a few weeks ago, he probably doesn’t even remember. How’s he doing?”

“He’ll be fine,” Iris said.

“Good. Can you thank him for the coffee advise? I do like the Vibes.”

“Sure,” Iris said.

“Meloni?” the barista called.

“That’s me. It was nice to meet you.”

She took the coffees with a smile and walked off. Barry walked in a moment later, right as Iris was collecting their drinks and muffins.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You okay?”

“I have another appointment same time next week. I am a mess, Iris. And I can’t take meds because of my metabolism.”

“Doctor Finkel helped before. She can do it again.”

“Yeah.” Barry sipped his drink. “Hot chocolate?”

“Black Canary was from Star originally, so her drink’s a little different,” Iris said. “I think it’s got caramel in it too?”

“It’s nice. We should get back.”

“We don’t have to right away. We can go for a walk first. If it helps.”

“Hot chocolate from Jitters and a walk around Hardwell Park, sounds like we’re seventeen all over again,” Barry said. “I think that would be nice.”

“And there was a woman in here just now, she said she met you a few weeks ago and she said to pass on her thanks for your coffee recommendations.”

“Huh.”

* * *

Zari had left to go find the Legends by the time they got back to S.T.A.R. Labs. And Iris had seen Martin, apparently Clarissa was downstairs talking to Miranda about what next, since Rip had been staying with them, and he was taking Jonas out for ice cream.

“Hey,” Linda said when they walked in. “Did your thing?”

“Yep,” Iris said. “Wally, have you ever heard of Doctor Darwin Elias?”

“No,” Wally said. “I don’t think so? Should I have?”

“No. Detective Heart just asked me if there was any reason Amunet Black might be interested in you, since you know Meena Dhawan, Daniel’s our cousin, and the Monteleones were connected to Clark Bronwen.”

“What’s Professor Dhawan got to do with anything? And I barely know Daniel, and I never met Tar Pit.”

“I said you weren’t connected, but just keep your eyes peeled, because I can think of one very obvious reason Amunet Black might be interested in you that’s nothing to do with biofuel engines.”

“There’s no way she knows I’m one of the Flashes. I haven’t met her either.”

“Yeah, if she’s going to figure anyone’s identity out, it’s mine,” Barry said. “She ran out the room before you breached in with Barry, and she knows I’m a speedster.”

“I’m working on it,” Iris said.

“You spent a while with Detective Heart,” Hartley said.

“Actually, I had an appointment with Doctor Finkel,” Barry said. “Iris met August because Ralph was supposed to and I haven’t...”

“One step at a time,” Caitlin said. “We have a theory about DeVoe.”

“You know what he’s planning?” Lily asked.

“No,” Linda said. “It’s just what he said to Barry about Barry forcing his hand and finding Gauss sooner than expected. Ralph was the easiest bus meta for him to find. We know he knew Ralph before us, he hired him to look into Bellows.”

“But he didn’t just take Ralph’s powers back then.”

“No. If he orchestrated everything, he knew who every person on that bus was, why not just go after them himself?”

“To hurt more,” Hartley said. “He murdered five people in front of Barry, that is intentional.”

“He told me so,” Barry said. “He said- He said he wanted me to watch. That’s why he stopped me moving.”

“If he’s been planning this for years, why wait? Unless he was stalling.”

“He faked his death,” Lily said. “So no one would question him?”

“I don’t think the reason he left his body was just to fake his death,” Caitlin said. “I think he was dying.”

“From ALS,” Hartley said. “Unless he was faking that like Eobard faked a disability.”

“I don’t think he was faking that,” Caitlin said. “He has his other chair too, I don’t know if it was ALS or something with similar symptoms, but I mean now. He transferred powers with him when he took on a new body, I’m sure if he tried he could have found a way to just take the powers. He didn’t. Cisco can’t vibe when the concentration of dark matter is too high and he can’t vibe DeVoe.”

“There are traces of dark matter in metahuman cells,” Hartley said. “It’s what we can detect. But only tiny traces.”

“But he has nine people’s powers, including his own. That’s a lot more than a trace. And we know dark matter affects DNA and mutates cells. Large amounts can damage them, I’ve been looking at it. But Ralph’s cells are resistant to that.”

“That’s why he needed Ralph,” Lily said. “That’s why Ralph last, because he needs his powers to keep him alive.”

“But Ralph wasn’t last,” Barry said. “There’s still Mina, Matthew, Mortimer, and Neil.”

“Which is why he said you forced his hand,” Linda said. “He wasn’t planning on going after Ralph yet. That’s why he rushed into getting Janet Petty, even though that’s now additional proof against him.”

“And he left Hamish’s body. He only left Dominic, Ramsey, and Sylbert’s because of Wally, he took Becky and Izzy’s. He was trying not to leave evidence. He’ll take Ralph’s powers. This doesn’t mean they’re safe.”

“No,” Iris said. “But he’s already got what he wanted from Mortimer. He bought tears from Amunet Black.”

“Maybe because he knew you were looking into it and he wanted a contingency plan,” Wally said.

“Neil can’t control his powers,” Barry said.

“And Tracy still hasn’t found a way,” Caitlin said.

“He needs them for something. We know he wanted Mina’s body because he tried to take it, but they’re still in danger. Just because he won’t take their bodies, doesn’t mean he doesn’t still want them.”

“Do you think Neil is safe with Tracy?” Wally asked. “And Tracy’s safe?”

“Moving them is risky,” Hartley said. “Do you all remember the time both Snarts attacked a casino so they’d move their valuables and they could rob the transport? I think it’s better if we make sure we find some help for Tracy, and maybe fit some power dampeners around so he can’t just walk in then out. He has Edwin’s powers, so he won’t be relying on the chair’s, it’s exactly the same as how Cisco could breach into the meta wing but wouldn’t be able to breach out again.”

“I’ll talk to Laurel about calling Lyla,” Lily said. “Maybe she’ll be able to help.”

“And I’ll head over there. Maybe Ronnie and Jason could help if they’re free, they’re quite good with nuclear energy.”

* * *

Amunet Black really had been laying low. But maybe Iris could find out a little more about this Black Hole. She knew a few places that might give her a few leads. Flicking through Professor Dhawan’s and Doctor Elias’ research might help too.

“Barry,” Iris said. She sat in the Time Vault with her laptop and he put his screwdriver down. “Can you read this paragraph for me?”

“Sure,” Barry said. “Huh.”

“I thought so too.”

“Tracy was working on theories to do with the Speed Force. I didn’t realise there were more people, but if she worked it out, it stands to reason other people would too.”

“I’ll drop by and ask her a few questions. She knew Professor Dhawan, maybe she’ll have some ideas. This is what Doctor Elias was working on.”

Iris switched tabs and Barry skimmed the paper and frowned.

“That’s what I thought.”

“He seems to have good intentions,” Barry said. “You’re probably better off talking to Caitlin but it sounds like his gene re-coder would make transgenics easier and his proposed uses do sound like he wants to help people."

“But he’s an expert in genetics,” Iris said. “Professor Dhawan has researched the Speed Force, we know that even if she hasn’t published a lot. August has proof Edward Clariss is with Black Hole.”

“Amunet Black was very pleased when Wolfe told her I’m a speedster.”

“You said Meena Dhawan is one of the names August is certain her disappearance is linked to that storm.”

“It was mentioned by several people Jorge Heart talked to, I think that’s probably why he put August’s name down, he knew he’d been hurt that night and suspected there was something going on. I don’t remember it being mentioned by anyone Doctor Elias knew, but Professor Dhawan apparently took readings that night and was sure it was somehow connected to her research, but Ralph and I went up to the university and asked a few of her colleagues and no one has access to it. I didn’t think she’d published anything explicitly about the Speed Force though.”

“It’s just a few lines from what I’ve found, but if someone were looking, they’d notice. We don’t know when Clariss ended up with Black Hole, they could have known about the Speed Force before the storm from him. It makes sense they’d be interested in speedsters. You are the first publicly known metahuman.”

“What about Firestorm?”

“Was confirmed to be a metahuman later, the same as Clyde Mardon, there were theories floating around, I know you know about the older rumours about some of Amaya’s friends in the J.S.A., but the Flash, you, were the first who was recognised as being a man with superhuman abilities. People have seen you racing around Central, they’ve seen you do impossible things. They also saw the damage Zoom did. I know he’s not the only one whose beaten you, but he did do it very publicly.”

“Because he wanted to show people I wasn’t enough to stop him.”

“But you did stop him. You got back up and you stopped him. Mark Mardon and James Jesse could only do what they did by threatening other people. The people of Central love you. The criminal population maybe less so. Things changed when you showed up. I think Amunet Black and Black Hole have very deliberately tried to stay as far under your radar as they can.”

“People have been going missing.”

“You’re a superhero. You show up to fight crime and put out fires and help people. They’re not thinking of you as an investigator, and if these cases didn’t end up with Dad, or Captain Singh, or Eddie, there’s no reason anyone would mention it to you as Barry Allen. Professor Dhawan and Doctor Elias are both missing. That implies if they are working for Black Hole, it probably isn’t by choice.”

“A speedster, someone whose been studying the Speed Force, and an expert in genetics, that isn’t a coincidence and it can’t be good.”

“We know the meta gene exists. Do you think Doctor Elias’ gene re-coder could turn someone into a metahuman?”

“We don’t know all the factors,” Barry said. “So far it seems dark matter is incredibly important for the activation of the meta gene. Like, Barry-2 and I are doppelgangers, we are genetically identical. But I got struck by lightning and became the Flash, that didn’t happen to him and he doesn’t have powers. I assume we were both born with a dormant meta gene, probably inherited from Dad if Jay is anything to go by. Likewise, Max is the doppelganger of your mother, I think we can probably assume Wally inherited his from Francine. We don’t know how likely it is for the gene to be passed on, we know Clyde and Mark Mardon shared powers, so it’s possible you have a dormant meta gene, and you have been exposed to a lot of dark matter and that hasn’t activated. Linda’s probably a better example, her doppelganger has powers, they’re genetically identical, Linda was in Central the night of the accelerator, and the Singularity which triggers Eddie’s powers, and she was in S.T.A.R. Labs when we recreated the accelerator which gave Jesse powers, she’s been near breaches which as far as we can tell gave Caitlin powers, but she doesn’t have any. I don’t know. But if they can isolate the meta gene I think they could probably do something with that.”

“They need to have a work space somewhere.”

“If you’re right about them doing research, yes, they probably need quite a lot of lab equipment.”

“Have you heard about any thefts from labs recently?”

“Not off the top of my head. They might be keeping it secret? Doctor McGee might have told us. She told us about her Magnatar, and she knows I’m the Flash, if she’d had a lot I think she would have told us. We haven’t had any.”

“Doctor Elias worked for Stagg Industries.”

“Hartley says Sapphire Stagg is a lot nicer than her dad was.”

“I’ll see if she’ll meet with me, or at least see if she’s had any thefts. I doubt the Rathaways will talk to me.”

“Maybe you could ask Tina to ask around? She probably knows the head of Kord, McCullough, there’s Concordance Research, Folston Tech, Dayton Optical Systems maybe, Ivo Labs, Central has a lot of labs they could steal what they need from. Maybe Amunet Black has been smuggling things into the city they’ve stolen from elsewhere. Tina might even be able to talk to the Rathaways, though I guess she can’t just tell you if they do say anything.”

“Maybe. I’ll talk to her.”

* * *

Doctor McGee hadn’t reported any thefts, and Sapphire Stagg was happy to talk over the phone, she hadn’t had any recent break ins either, nor had she been warned of any recent spates.

Iris had, however, managed to get one lead on Matthew Norvock. And if Barry was investigating for August, it was only fair to invite him along too.

They’d waited out of sight in the alley for a few hours before Norvock showed up. He had two people with him, with guns. Barry grabbed him and ran him and Iris up to the roof.

“Iris West-Snow.”

“Matthew Norvock,” Iris said. “Ex-employee of Central City Zoo until the night of the accelerator. I understand the eye thing is something to do with you working with the snakes.”

“How often do you work with the Flash?”

“When Mrs West-Snow tells me about what’s been happening in my city and asks for some help,” Barry said, vibrating his voice.

“Where’s Amunet?” Iris asked.

“Don’t know. She hasn’t shown up since you ruined her last deal with the Warden.”

“How many people did she kidnap?” Barry asked.

“Metahumans.”

“We’re both metahumans, Norvock. How many?”

“So’s she. You think I could go back to the zoo like this?”

“So this was your only option? How many people, Norvock?”

“Flash,” Iris said. He took a deep breath and the lightning rippling across his eyes faded. “How long?”

“Why would I tell you that?” Norvock asked.

“Did you think those were your only two choices? Accomplice or victim? You said she’s been lying low. No one knows where she is. And that’s why you’ve been able to take over her business, isn’t it? The minute she decides it’s safe to come out of hiding, she’ll take it all away from you again. Letting me expose her, letting C.C.P.D. have her, that’s in your best interests.”

“How do I know you won’t lead them to me?”

“Because it’s her I want. How long?”

“The tech since the particle accelerator. She got her powers from a plane. Metahumans since Zoom. She broke up with Goldface then got approached to break into Iron Heights for a couple of metas someone had seen in all that. Decided it was worth more to keep it up as a business and make a name for herself away from him. Bribing the warden was easier than breaking in.”

“And since Zoom’s army was from Earth-2, this wasn’t their home for anyone to realise they were missing,” Barry said.

“It was only a couple every few months at first,” Norvock said. “And only when she got pointed in their direction. There were a few not from Iron Heights, but not many.”

“She was planning an auction,” Iris said. “She was talking about adding Mortimer to the lots.”

“The Flash was gone for months. She got bolder. Even when you came back and Kid Flash got his promotion, no one noticed her first one, another wouldn’t hurt. And Wolfe called her about something special, she couldn’t resist when he told her about the others too.”

“Others,” Iris said. “Wolfe called her to Iron Heights for a specific person.”

“Apparently he’d found a speedster. She’s got a standing order for those.” He side-eyed Barry. “There’s a big price on your head if she can get hold of you.”

“For who?” Barry asked.

“Don’t know. Some organisation she’s done a few things for. She didn’t trust me with details on her clients. I only know they’re all one group because they wear matching pins.”

“With this symbol on?” Iris asked. She held up a sketch of the symbol Barry had shown her, two spirals.

“That’s it,” Norvock said. “Got a couple of metas from her, some doctor guy too, but it’s speedsters they’re really interested in. Bet they’d show up if I say I’d caught you.”

“Maybe,” Barry said. “I’m quite difficult to catch though.”

He grabbed Iris and ran just as a puff of green came out Norvock’s eye tentacle thing. Barry didn’t put her back down until they were in Ralph’s office. When he stopped moving he was out the suit, he must have left some clothes at Ralph’s just in case.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Are you?” Iris asked. “It was you he was aiming for.”

“I think I missed it all. Did any get you?”

“No, I’m fine, Barry. Really.”

“She came to Iron Heights because of me.”

“DeVoe would have sent her there for them anyway, probably. Maybe he would have just gone himself. Maybe that’s one of the reasons he framed you. We assumed he just wanted you out the way and us focused on getting you out instead of what he was doing, but maybe he knew somehow about her looking for speedsters, and he knew if Wolfe found out he’d call her, and he knew about your hypoglycaemia if we couldn’t get you out fast enough. He’s predicted enough already.”

“He can’t tell the future. He works on probability. Somehow, somewhere, he pushed everyone onto that bus. He used the Samaroid to push you into getting me out the Speed Force. He pushed us to Ralph. We’ve just been playing his game this whole time. He’s thought of everything.”

“We’re going to stop him, Barry.”

“How? We still don’t know what he wanted their powers for. Ralph maybe, Dominic so he could take their bodies and powers, but we don’t know the rest.”

“No,” Iris said. “But we can figure it out. And we do have a lead on Amunet Black.”

“I doubt there are still records on all the flights in and out of the city that night,” Barry said. “But if she’s a metahuman, the flight must have been close to the city, close enough she was affected, so maybe there’s a news article? It might not mention names though. Eobard knew names.”

“What?”

“He kept track of what he did. I know a lot was on Gideon, but she had back up files. I found them a couple of weeks ago while I was tinkering, I didn’t open them because I didn’t want to see, but it’s possible he has something there, maybe?”

“We know the newspaper is still there. It might be worth a look.”

* * *

Iris wasn’t sure how Barry had got the podium working again, but he had. Gideon’s memory banks had gone when she’d been erased, but there was a separate set of files, and Barry used the podium to project a list of folders.

“I can see why you didn’t want to look any further,” Iris said, looking at the names of the top few files. “I had no idea this was here.”

“I think it’s my fault. When I went to the past to ask him about the Speed Equation I told him I made Gideon. That if he killed me, she’d be erased, and I gave her an order to send everything to Joe if he tried. I think this was his contingency plan. So if I went back again he wouldn’t have to worry about losing all his data if he lost her. It’s not an A.I., just files, and it was password protected, but I got past that, so hopefully there’s something.”

“There’s a lot.”

“He stalked me for fifteen years,” Barry said. “I was expecting a lot. I just didn’t expect him to consider it worth saving everything to his back up.”

He kept scrolling, past the folders all containing videos of Barry’s life according to the names, past data entries marked by month about the Flash, past files on tachyons, and down to one marked metahumans. Barry opened it.

And scrolled down a lot.

“Over two thousand metahumans created just that night,” Barry said. “And we don’t know how many have been created since. Not that many all at once, but…”

“There are over two thousand metahumans in this city,” Iris said. “And every single one is potentially in danger from Amunet Black and her clients. He’s compared them.”

Barry hovered over Bette’s name. Powers identical in both timelines.

“He was studying the metagene,” Barry said. “Not a lot, it wasn’t his major focus, but he was studying it. That’s why he kept Farooq’s body.”

“Can you search?”

“I don’t know,” Barry said. “It’s just a text file, but this thing doesn’t have an obvious control f.” He fiddled with the panel a little. “Can you pass me that keyboard over there?”

“What have you been working on in here?” Iris asked. She passed Barry the keyboard and he opened the panel up and pushed a USB into the same place he’d inserted the memory stick with information about tachyons.

“Gideon,” Barry said. “Here, look.” He hovered over a name. “Leslie Jocoy, flight attendant, bonded with aluminium, nickel, cobalt alloy. Powers identical in both timelines, starting to organise Network, no major concern.”

“Leslie?” Iris asked.

“I think we should delete this. Can you imagine if she found this? Or Black Hole? Or Eiling? Or the people who make A.R.G.U.S. in Zari’s time? This list should not exist.”

“Can you delete it?”

“I’ll try. If all else fails, I’ll just smash the podium.”

“That loses us the newspaper.”

“I know. We don’t need it. I’ll try and just delete it, but if I can’t, I will physically destroy it.”

“Okay. I will see what I can find on Leslie Jocoy.”

* * *

Leslie Jocoy didn’t have a criminal record before the accelerator. Technically she didn’t have one after either, so that didn’t necessarily mean she hadn’t been committing crime, just that she hadn’t been caught doing it. But maybe if people were looking for Amunet Black, she was using a different name. It was worth double checking.

And Iris got a call from a Mister Banks, who worked at Vandermeer Steel, to report a theft. An alloy they’d been working on. Apparently Sapphire Stagg had passed on that she was looking into similar thefts. Whoever had broken in had got passed their retinal scanners and unlocked the door with no signs of damage. And the night guard had shot himself except her dad had been assigned to the case and had talked to the guard’s wife, they’d just had a baby, he was happy and he had no history of anything that might cause him to do something like that.

“This was DeVoe,” Cisco said. “It has to have been.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Iris’ dad said. “Why did he call you, Iris?”

“Barry and I have been following up some Black Hole theories,” Iris said. “This doesn’t fit what we were looking for. It’s top secret right now and I don’t have all the details, but it’s some kind of solar panel. Boeing Lab and the Jamison Institute both had thefts of hardware last night too, Mister Banks doesn’t have any details and I assume they’re not your case, but from the sounds of it, they were both DeVoe.”

“And we don’t know what he wants,” Lily said. “And we have no way of finding out.”

“Yes, we do,” Cisco said.

“I could run to the future,” Barry said.

“No,” Cisco said. “I’m going to vibe.”

“You can’t vibe DeVoe,” Hartley said.

“Not alone, I can’t. But he boosted his powers. I think I might know someone who can help me boost mine.”

* * *

Charmer seemed on edge. Barry went to help Cisco while Iris kept focusing on finding Amunet. They’d vibed a shipping container but DeVoe had got there first, and Cisco and Cynthia had seen the wrong one.

And Barry was not okay when they got back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

“He’s been helping you with the Black Hole story,” Linda said.

“He promised August he’d find out what happened,” Iris said. “And I think he needed the distraction.”

“I’ve been going over old speeches and lectures both DeVoes have given in the past to see if there are any hints. Apparently, they met during a debate at Oxford, Marlize spoke about the benefits of technology and Clifford criticised its role in society. I also found out Marlize DeVoe was involved in a water purification project, she was designing technology to easily make dirty water potable, they had a break through then were attacked. The project was stolen, she was shot. In the arm, she fully recovered, and a few months later she was engaged.”

“You think this has something to do with technology?” Iris asked.

“Maybe. I think what he was arguing there could be the beginning of whatever this is.”

“If you have an article ready, it might help. People knowing what to look out for will help keep them safe, and maybe someone’s seen something that might come in useful.”

“Are you sure?”

“We didn’t buy a paper to do nothing with it. We have a website. I know we’ve only published a few stories and haven’t got a lot of readers yet but at least it’ll be something.”

“You really think telling people about DeVoe is the right call.”

“People deserve the truth. They deserve to know what’s really going on in this city. And if there is someone threatening them, they need to know. Maybe it’ll help us, maybe it won’t, but at the least people will know he’s out there and he’s dangerous. Even if all we can prove is that he’s behind these thefts. Barry told you the truth about Earth-2 and Zoom and who he was when we asked for your help.”

“The Flash asked for my help, I didn’t need to know his name to trust him, it was the Flash. Finding out it was Barry just added to that. We know that if he were to say something people would listen, that’s why him telling the truth at his trial would have meant he’d be found innocent. It’s why people started asking questions when they heard Wally mention DeVoe.”

“You said you thought he went after Ralph sooner than planned because we’d already found Edwin. And he went after Janet Petty first. She was at C.C.P.D., he might have killed Doyle but there are cameras, there’s evidence. He left bodies at Iron Heights because Wally didn’t let him take them. Becky, Izzy, Edwin, he took the evidence with him. This time he rushed and left some.”

“He needs her powers,” Linda said. “He could have gone after Mina, he could have gone after Matthew, but he went after her because he needs her powers. His plan won’t work without them. It’s not much. Basically nothing.”

“But not completely. We just have to work out what he’s stealing, and how gravitational manipulation is related.”

“I’ll keep digging, see what I can find. And I’ll type it all up.”

“Do you want some help?”

* * *

Linda and Iris had ended up in Hartley and Cisco’s office working. Maybe they should start looking for their own.

It was starting to get late when Cisco and Barry came in.

“How’s Cynthia?” Linda asked.

“Distant,” Cisco said. “There’s something going on with her, it’s linked to her father losing his powers, but she doesn’t want to go into it. It’s just playing on her mind a lot; hence it threw her vibes off.”

“And she hasn’t dropped by for a while.”

“No. She’ll tell us when she’s ready. DeVoe almost killed her.”

“He what?”

“He used Null’s powers to force choke her. While none of us could move. The only reason he didn’t was Marlize. Wally said he thought you should know that.”

“It might be useful,” Iris said. “What did he take?”

“A supercomputer from Mercury Labs.”

“Linda’s found a lot, she’s got an article to publish, but we think he needs Null’s powers for something.”

“Satellites,” Barry said. “He’s building satellites. With her powers he can launch them from wherever he wants.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“He said his plan for the Enlightenment needs you,” Cisco said. “That’s why he tried to kill Cindy but none of us. He needs us for something. Barry specifically. And when Marlize told him to stop, she said their plan is to save people.”

“I think you’re right about the answers being somewhere in their old work, Linda,” Iris said.

“And that explains Deacon and Rundine’s powers too,” Linda said.

“And Becky Sharpe,” Cisco said. “He works on probability, he can’t see the future, no one really knows the future. With Hazard’s powers he can manipulate probability to make sure he gets the outcome he wants. The only way to stop him is to be unpredictable.”

“Which he’s probably expecting.”

“Yes.”

“If he wants Barry for something, how do we know we aren’t playing right into his hands?”

“We don’t. But we have to stop him somehow. He isn’t saving anyone, whatever he thinks, and if he thinks he can truly predict Time, then he is the one in need of a lesson.”

“I think I might have an idea for my thing,” Barry said. “I’m just- I’ll be in the Time Vault if anyone wants me.”

He darted out the room.

“We’ll give him a few minutes,” Iris said.

* * *

Cisco came with her to the Time Vault. Barry was looking at two newspapers.

“You’ve still got that one?” Cisco asked. “How? Zambesi was never attacked in this timeline.”

“Did we make the right decision with that?” Barry asked. “I know Mari says she’s fine with this timeline, but when I change time, something always goes wrong.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Mason Bridge died and-”

“Mason was investigating Eobard,” Iris said. “That wasn’t on you, Barry, that has never been on you. He found enough it hugely contributed to getting your dad out of prison. There was no way Eobard ever would have let him publish that. And because you changed time that day Cisco developed his powers and the both of you have saved the world. We both know without Cisco and his powers we could not have stopped Zoom. Besides, he showed me once. It wouldn’t have only been Cisco.”

“I was selfish-”

“And you saved hundreds of people. Maybe thousands, I don’t know how many the tidal wave would have killed. I do know Dad would have died. Me and Wally. The only people with you when Cisco showed me were Linda and Dante.”

“You saved Kendra and that meant she got a chance to finally stop Savage,” Cisco said. “She got a chance to live her life with Carter. Hector would never have been born if you hadn’t. Maybe things go wrong, but things go right too. Maybe your decision was selfish, but it wasn’t the wrong decision to make.”

“Was it the right one?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I could tell you there was a right and wrong decision in that situation, but you were just trying to help people. Mari’s life is different now. It isn’t worse, it might not be better, it’s just different. Life has good and bad. Yes, changing the past can be dangerous. The decisions you make ripple onto your present, which changes the reality you live in. That’s why even if you’d saved your mother, it wouldn’t have been Eobard’s timeline. Why we couldn’t send Cobalt home. Over every Earth in the multiverse there are infinite possibilities, stacked and stacked and stacked, and we can’t travel between them all. You know that. You saw that. In the Speed Force. Didn’t you?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Because the human mind isn’t made to comprehend infinity. I don’t remember, it’s so big. Yes, we changed the timeline, Mari has a different life. You changed the timeline, Miranda and Jonas are alive, how is that a bad thing?”

“I changed the past without thinking. I didn’t even check if Zari’s loophole would work, I just rushed in without thinking, and I changed the past, that wasn’t my decision to make.”

“Then just change the future,” Cisco said. “That is your decision, just like it is everyone else’s. Make decisions that ripple through time and make the world better. I know you make mistakes. Everyone does. But you make this world better because you are in it. You make my life better because you are in it. You made Ralph’s life better and he made his own decision.”

“He died because of my decisions.”

“Your decisions gave him friendship. Helped him become a hero.”

“If I’d just let him-”

“He wasn’t going to make that decision, Bare,” Iris said. “Not after all this. He might have suggested it, but in that moment, he wouldn’t have done it. He would regret it too much. You carry so much death with you you keep forgetting all the lives you have saved. You don’t have to be perfect. All you have to be is kind. And you are, you care about other people and you try and make the kind decision over and over, but you need to remember to be kind to yourself too sometimes. I know you’re hurting and I wish I could make it all go away, but all I know how to do is make sure you know you are loved exactly as you are.”

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what DeVoe wants from me.”

“He wants to hurt you.”

“He’s succeeding. I won’t help him, Iris. I won’t. I failed Ralph once, I will not do it again.”

“This isn’t just on you,” Cisco said. “It’s all of us. I was right at your side. You did not make these decisions alone.”

“I know. I know, and I am sorry, I keep getting stuck in my head. I think I’m going to be seeing Doctor Finkel for a while. I should have gone a long time ago. Are you okay?”

“It’s not me DeVoe wants.”

“Not that. Ralph. You saw him too. I know he’s made himself DeVoe shaped, but it’s Ralph’s body. If you have a pile of Lego bricks you can make them into hundreds of different things, but it doesn’t change the bricks. DeVoe shaped or not, he can’t change that he started as Ralph, he’s got Ralph’s eyes, he talked to us in Ralph’s voice. It hit me again. Are you okay?”

“I want to stop him, and I don’t know how. I can’t vibe and I feel useless without them.”

“You didn’t have your powers when we started this.”

“You have more,” Iris said. “And powers or not, you are one of the smartest people I have ever met. He might think he has the smartest mind on the planet, and maybe he does, but we have multiple minds, and combined we’re better.”

“Something Cindy said too. Something about her world. And when you came out the Speed Force you said that we’d help her save it, you said Dante was in trouble.”

“I’m sorry,” Barry said. “I don’t remember.”

“I’ve lost one brother already. I don’t want to lose another. I don’t want to lose anyone else. What happened to the podium?”

“We found a list of metahumans Eobard left,” Iris said. “Along with a lot of other stuff, but he left a back up of some of what was saved on Gideon and a list of everyone affected the night of the accelerator seemed like something that shouldn’t exist, so Barry’s trying to delete it. There are thousands of names on it, and that’s only from that one event.”

“The Singularity seemed more localised,” Barry said. “Eddie’s the only one we know got powers from that. It’s possible we missed some people who got powers from the breaches, but I don’t think there would be many. Unless there were a lot of husks we missed with the Philosopher’s Stone, there were only six people including Wally. There were only twelve people on the- Iris, Jorge was right, the storm is important.”

“What?”

“October was not the first time the Speed Force opened.”

“That’s why he started with the storm. That’s why it’s the only link he could find, it created more metahumans.”

“We have no idea if Becky reactivating the accelerator did the same, we don’t know if getting my powers back did anything, it affected Jesse, Eobard’s list had two thousand people on it and that is not a complete list. We already knew every single person in Central and a lot of Keystone is a potential metahuman, but there are multiple events that could have caused it.”

“And if Meena Dhawan was studying the storm not only does she have theories about the Speed Force, it’s possible she knows what activates the metagene.”

“They can use Doctor Elias’ tech to give someone a metagene and her knowledge to activate it.”

“What have you two been doing, exactly?” Cisco asked.

“I need you to look up Leslie Jocoy,” Iris said. “It’s Amunet Black’s real name. And then I think we should call August.”

* * *

Barry didn’t wear his suit when they headed to the small shop Cisco had found registered to a Leslie Jocoy. Probably a good thing. It was pretty full with people gambling.

“Iris West-Snow,” Amunet Black said. “I hear you’ve been talking to Norvock.”

“I hear you’ve been lying low since our last encounter,” Iris said. “I want to know about Black Hole, Leslie.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Really? Because I was told you did some business with them.”

“I’m afraid I can’t discuss my clients with the press. You understand how that would be a breach of their trust. Hello again, Barry Allen. I wondered what had her so desperate to interfere in my business.”

“It’s because Iris is a wonderful person who wants to help everyone she can,” Barry said. “Whereas you’re a greedy, selfish, awful person.”

“And you’re a speedster.”

“No, I’m just trying to do my best to help people.”

“I take it you’re not willing to talk to us,” Iris said. “That’s fine. We didn’t come alone.”

“C.C.P.D., everyone hands up,” August said. “Leslie Jocoy, you’re under arrest.”

“Spoilsport,” Amunet said to Iris.

* * *

“That’s going to be a lot of paperwork,” Barry said as the last police car drove off.

“Plus they’re going to have some issues finding somewhere to put her,” Lisa Snart stepped out the shadows. “I heard the fire brigade are on their way to Iron Heights. Some problem in the metawing.”

“When you said you’d deal with it, I didn’t imagine setting fire to it was how you’d choose to,” Barry said. “Is Mick back?”

“He’s still hanging around with those losers. And how could I possibly be behind any prison breaks while I’m here talking to you?”

“Thanks. I doubt they’ll just leave it as gone, but at least the next one might be better. There wasn’t anyone in it, was there?”

“If I’d been there, which I wasn’t, Shawna and I would have made sure everyone got out, and your friends are up there now so I’m sure everyone will be fine.”

“Aww, Lisa, you’re the best nemesis. How’s Mina?”

“Keeping her head down with the recent stories about this Thinker. She thought you should know about Iron Heights though. Hence I’m here. No other reasons. She wants to know how you are.”

“Great,” Barry said. “DeVoe did murder five more people, two right in front of me and he made me watch him kill my friend also one of the people I didn’t see was also a friend and also, less of a note, I did lose my job and Captain Singh said I’m just suspended without pay for not being a murderer or maybe because I’m a metahuman, either way the mayor doesn’t like me even though we’ve never met and I am technically unemployed with many issues with PTSD and my metabolism means I cannot take medication but I am going to therapy and I need a lot more but I think that will help.”

“Barry,” Iris said.

“I should maybe talk to Iris about that and not you.”

“Yeah maybe,” Lisa said.

“Lisa,” Iris said. “How many people were in the metawing?”

“Just my Rogues.”

“How many new Rogues do you have?”

“Axel wants to invite his mother. The only reason James Jesse joined was because Axel said he thought it would be fun but only if he could bring his dad too. That’s it.”

“Have you heard of Black Hole?”

“Perhaps contrary to your beliefs, we try not to get involved in that side of crime in Central. Blacksmith, Goldface, the Santinis, we’re not like them, we don’t want to control this city, I’m a thief, I steal stuff, no one has to get hurt while I’m doing it. I would not let her lay a finger on my Rogues. You saw what Lenny did to the Santinis, just because I don’t want to be involved doesn’t mean I won’t involve myself for them. It’s my city and they’re my people, and she knows that. Black Hole know it too. I don’t know more than their symbol and that Kyle Nimbus approached Shawna a few months ago with a proposal to team up and take down the Flash, but I know the only reason Shawna got away with saying no is because she’s a Rogue.”

“I’ll find another way to expose them,” Iris said. “Amunet Black’s in custody, Black Hole are next, and Eiling the minute I can find a way that won’t compromise Barry’s identity.”

“Zee did say you and Linda are the best reporters ever,” Barry said. “Well, maybe she didn’t exactly say that, but you are, and if you can spark a whole rebellion in the future, I’m pretty sure you can figure out how to deal with Eiling.”

“Future?” Lisa asked.

“Our friend with the tornadoes is from the future, it sucks, and we’re trying to change it. I feel like Eiling would probably be involved. If it starts as anti meta laws.”

“He doesn’t sound great,” Lisa said. “And it would be very hard to rob banks if there are no banks. I suppose occasionally helping you could be mutually beneficial and I could let you know if I hear anything else about Black Hole.”

“Thank you,” Iris said. “Barry, we should go.”

* * *

Linda had found a lot on the DeVoes. Not exactly what the Enlightenment was, but she had found out they’d had a disagreement over some of Clifford’s more radical ideas right before Marlize had left for her water purification project. Cisco, Hartley, and Lily were working on finding out what the satellites were for. He hadn’t left his pocket dimension in a few days according to the detector which probably meant he was still building.

And Linda had been right that a lot of Marlize’s papers had the opposite views of what she seemed to be working towards now.

And they could both work on a story about the metawing. About its flaws as well as what had happened.

“Hartley found footage of both DeVoes here the night of the accelerator,” Linda said. “Wearing a thing on his head. We think he deliberately gave himself powers.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Iris said. “Did I tell you Barry thinks the Speed Force storm could have created new metahumans?”

“That makes sense. And we don’t know how many people Amunet Black...”

“No, she wouldn’t say, and August says she’s not talking to him either. Not that I was expecting her to. Barry’s got an appointment later so I’ll be out for a little while. I’m sure we can dig up a lot on Iron Heights first.”

* * *

Barry seemed a little more relaxed after his appointment with Doctor Finkel. Iris had got hot chocolates from Jitters again and they’d gone for their usual walk around Hardwell Park. It was a nice day. Sunny. Warm.

It had been a nice day until someone stepped into their path.

“Ms West. Mister Allen.”

“General Eiling,” Iris said. She held Barry’s hand. “What a coincidence to see you here.”

“Just out for a stroll. Congratulations, Ms West, it seems your hard work paid off. It looks like at least some of Leslie Jocoy’s charges will stick with the long list C.C.P.D. has provided.”

“That is good news,” Iris said. “I’m sure many people will sleep better at night knowing she’s not able to hurt anyone else.”

“Yourself included, Mister Allen? She knows what you are.”

“There are a lot of things that keep me up at night,” Barry said. “You don’t make the top twenty.”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed I haven’t paid our mutual friend a visit.”

“Yes, thank you for not kidnapping a man in his sixties, that must be so hard for you. What are you doing here?”

“I thought Ms West might be interested in McCulloch Technologies.”

“Why?”

“And what do you want in exchange for that?” Iris asked.

“Nothing,” Eiling said.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’ll admit it would be far easier to offer Darwin Elias a job if I had an address. You’re, unfortunately, quite good at your job, Ms West. And our interests have aligned. It would be... remiss of me not to take advantage of every resource available.”

“That sounded painful,” Barry said.

“We have very different motivations, Wade,” Iris said. “A common enemy does not make us allies.”

“Perhaps not,” Eiling said. “But the Flash ending up in their hands is not in either of our best interests. Harrison Wells has been dealt with. None of us want to see another Reverse Flash.”

“Eobard Thawne is a time traveller,” Barry said. “We may have seen the end of his story, but we haven’t seen the beginning yet.”

“What are Black Hole?” Iris asked.

“Interested in speedsters,” Eiling said.

Barry’s phone rang.

“Cisco? We’re on our way.” He hung up. “Assuming you’re letting us go, General.”

“I’m sure I’ll see you both soon enough,” General Eiling said. He stepped out the way, and Barry grabbed Iris then ran. He didn’t stop till they were at S.T.A.R. Labs.

“What’s going on?”

“DeVoe broke into Tracy’s lab. He took Neil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter did not go at all to plan (August was supposed to just be a cameo a few chapters ago and Black Hole just a mention, the original notes were "Iris v Amunet Black, Barry goes to therapy, Cindy, Ronnie + Jason drop by, Enlightenment discoveries" so I guess half sort of stuck to the plan) and is longer than I had anticipated which means the next chapter is not completely written yet (chapter 18 mostly is, the 12th and final installment of this series has mostly been written since halfway through Coffee, To Go, though there might need to be a little reshuffling and another draft needed) but I will still aim for next Thursday. However, it is possible it might be a little late.


	17. Schrodinger's Ralph

Tracy was fine. She had a concussion, but she was fine. That was a relief because Wally was guessing Neil was not going to be.

DeVoe had vanished back into his pocket dimension as far as they could tell. Cisco couldn’t open a breach without hurting himself and they, a, did not want Cisco to get hurt and b, did not want to go into a big fight against DeVoe without Vibe. According to Tracy, he hadn’t taken Neil’s body like the others, just shrunk him and also taken the container.

“He’s using Neil as the power source,” Hartley said. “I don’t think I can-”

“We will stop him,” Cisco said. “I don’t know how, and I don’t know how to save Neil, but we will stop DeVoe. We know he’s building satellites, even if we don’t know what they’re for. We just have to destroy them.”

“What if Barry and I throw lightning, short them out?” Wally asked.

“I don’t know if we’ll get that high,” Barry said. “When Janet used her powers on me, I went up very quickly. We’d have to be wherever he’s launching them ready to throw it as he does.”

“Or Cisco could open a breach.”

“Maybe,” Cisco said. “I’ve never opened one as high as you’ll need though.”

“You vibed space once,” Barry said.

“With a connection to the Dominator I was vibing, and that was just vibing, not breaching. Maybe I could but I don’t know.”

“We’ll think of something else, don’t worry,” Iris said.

“We can’t use technology,” Laurel said.

“Amunet Black’s powers aren’t technology,” Caitlin said.

“She is a criminal,” Eddie said. “She is in custody, thank you Iris, and if I see her within a hundred metres of Barry ever again, I will also be arrested.”

“I’m pretty sure we can do better than Amunet Black,” Linda said.

“We could chuck some rocks at it,” Lily said. “Oh, I know, how about we ask Oliver if he can shoot it with an arrow.”

“Team City is a mess,” Laurel said. “I don’t know what’s going on over there, they’re arguing about something. Kendra or Kara might be able to help though. They can fly.”

“Mari and Kuasa,” Cisco said. “If they can get here in time.”

“He’ll use Janet’s powers to stop anyone flying,” Barry said. “We don’t even know why he’s launching satellites, if we’re even right about that.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Iris said. “We do know someone who knows exactly what he’s planning. Linda?”

“I think we can convince her. If she’s still the person who wrote those articles.”

“Who?” Wally asked.

“Marlize DeVoe.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“And General Eiling just gave me a lead on Black Hole because we want the same thing this time,” Iris said.

“You’re not trusting him, are you?” Lily asked.

“No. No, I will follow the lead because they have been kidnapping people and are hurting people and have to be stopped, but I am not trusting him. But he had a point.”

“You don’t know where she is,” Cisco said. “Linda said she’s not been home in a while. Maybe she’s in the pocket dimension.”

“I think I have an idea,” Linda said. “We might need to borrow an extrapolator. It’s the fastest way to get to Oxford.”

“I’m going to go collect some rocks,” Lily said.

* * *

Wally could feel lightning tickling his arms as Linda picked up the extrapolator.

“Are you sure you don’t-”

“We’re not going there for a fight, Walls,” Iris said.

“But what if-”

“Wally.” Linda put her hands on his cheeks. “Everything will be fine. I have got my gloves and Cisco made some upgrades after DeVoe broke in. We have got an extrapolator. We’ll be right back, I promise.” She kissed him. “Everything will be fine.”

“Iris-”

“Listen to Linda,” Iris said. “You need to keep an eye on Barry. Make sure DeVoe can’t hurt him again.”

“Fine,” Wally said. “Call me if you need me?”

“We will,” Linda said.

* * *

Barry was pacing.

At super speed.

“I think everyone else would be able to help more if they could keep up,” Wally said. “Barry.”

“What? Oh, sorry, Wally, I was just, I-”

“I think being scared is probably the right emotion right now.”

“I’m not scared,” Barry said. “Not for me, anyway. I’m worried he’ll hurt more people and I won’t be able to stop him. Mostly I’m angry. I have been angry with myself for a long time but I wouldn’t have to save people if he didn’t hurt them. He hurt people, he killed my friend, I am not going to let him do this to anyone else. His actions are not my responsibility, the only ones I can control are my own, but I can choose to do my best to help everyone I can.”

“Iris is worried about you. I’m worried about you.”

“I have had two appointments with Doctor Finkel since all this,” Barry said. “Yes, I have talked to her about Flash stuff- especially Eobard- before so part of it has been reminders rather than starting from scratch, but two sessions is not going to fix everything. I can say it isn’t my fault but I think I’ll need a little longer to really believe it. And I know it is not healthy to just push everything to the side and ignore it and I have a history of doing that and if I did that less I would not have let myself get as bad as I did but right now I need to ignore everything and focus on stopping DeVoe, I will let myself have a breakdown later, Linda and I have already made baking plans with Beverly.”

“You, Linda, and Beverly Jackson.”

“Yes, Jax’s ma, we actually made them a few days ago, Linda stress bakes and thought it might be good for me and Beverly makes the best pecan pie in history and Jax has checked other historical pies to prove that. He might be biased but I believe him. Anyway we thought we’d do a lot of baking Friday since the Legends drop by pretty much every weekend and Jax has been bringing Sara home with him a lot which often means the other Legends will follow, so lots of baking to do. If we stop DeVoe.”

“Which we will.”

“If we can work out what his goal is.”

“Slowing down would help.”

“It’s hard.”

“I know. You hold onto people to bring them into Flashtime. Maybe holding onto Eddie can keep you grounded enough to stay out of it.”

Barry smiled and rested his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. Wally blinked as they slowed down.

“-call Harry,” Cisco was saying.

“You okay, Bare?” Eddie asked.

“Not exactly but I can do this still,” Barry said. “Everyone in this room, Iris, Linda, Dad, Joe, Cecile, I know that together we can do this. He might be the smartest man on the planet but he’s forgotten one thing. Two heads are better than one. He’s alone. We’re a team. You guys are my family. We stopped Reverse Flash together. We stopped Zoom together. We can do this together too. He thinks he’s planned for every eventuality, that it’s impossible to beat him? This is Central City. The impossible happens here every day, and twice on Tuesdays. He has hurt enough people. No one else.”

“Well said.” Cecile walked in with Wally’s dad and Henry. “What’ve we got?”

“He’s building satellites,” Cisco said. “He took Neil. We don’t know where, we don’t know how to save Neil, and we don’t know what he wants the satellites for, or how to stop them.”

“We do know how to stop them,” Hartley said. “If he’s controlling them with Ramsey Deacon’s powers, all we have to do is stop him using his powers.”

“And we know what he’s planning too,” Iris said. Marlize DeVoe was standing between her and Linda.

“Iris,” their dad said. “What are you doing?”

“She’s here to help,” Iris said.

“Joe, stop thinking about swords,” Cecile said. “Lily, Barry, you are not helping. There is a city of assassins? Why would you go there?”

“Oliver needed help,” Barry said. “And Laurel was there too.”

“You did what?” Henry asked.

“It’s not important,” Barry said. “Professor DeVoe, welcome to S.T.A.R. Labs where I realise now you have already been, what exactly is the plan so we can stop it?”

“Clifford calls it the Enlightenment,” Marlize said. “He plans to use dark matter to reset the minds of the human race, to erase everything, and then build humanity up again with him as their teacher.”

“And you thought this was a good idea,” Wally’s dad said.

“It was supposed to help people. To lessen the reliance on technology. To return humanity to its origins.”

“Not all technology is good,” Hartley said. “But it isn’t all bad either. People have been able to progress because they had technology to help. Central and Keystone were almost destroyed by a nuclear bomb this year, they’re bad, guns are bad, but think about assistive devices like my hearing aids or the wheelchair your husband was using. Think of how much easier it is to access information now with access to the internet. Before you might have to hope your local library had a book, which exist because of the printing press, a piece of technology, people have been using tools for probably as long as there have been people, this isn’t new.”

“You see?” Linda said. “You were right before.”

“And you have a plan to stop him,” Wally’s dad said.

“Yes,” Marlize said. “Unfortunately you aren’t going to like it.”

* * *

The Thinker’s chair was floating in the Speed Lab. And Marlize had Cecile’s cerebral inhibitor Harry had made, only she’d reversed how it worked. Everyone was suited up ready, just in case. Linda had her gloves still, and Lily had the Cold Gun. Caitlin had brought a bed down for Cecile to lie down on.

“You’re sure he won’t know about this,” Hartley said. “Because he said he needed Barry for something and you want to send Barry into his head and it wasn’t that long ago you stabbed Iris.”

“Mister Allen’s speed gives him the ability to heal-”

“And Wally, Caitlin, and I all have healing factors too,” Eddie said.

“And what makes you so sure there is still good in DeVoe?” Wally’s dad asked.

“There’s good in everyone,” Barry said. “This is worth trying. Wally.”

Wally blinked. Flashtime again.

“Please don’t ask me to take care of anyone,” he said.

“I know I don’t need to ask you to do that,” Barry said. “Are you sure?”

“Everyone is telling you this is a bad idea.”

“I know. I’m asking you. We’re both the Flash. Partners. What do you think?”

“Let me do it,” Wally said, slowing down enough everyone could hear him. “I’ll go in.”

“Wally,” his dad said.

“Cecile can only send one person,” Wally said. “And the idea of two DeVoes, one good, one bad, doesn’t even make that much sense to me, he’s one person who keeps making bad choices, but if Barry thinks it’s worth trying then let me do it.”

“You’re sure about this?” Linda asked.

“Yes. It isn’t just about our healing. It’s our speed too. He might be able to read minds, but he won’t be able to process any of it if we think at normal speeds, he won’t keep up. And he said he wanted Barry for something. He’s been taking over minds for months. I’ll do it. Barry stays out here.”

“You’ll need a distraction,” Barry said. “I trust you’re right about the mind reading. I can distract him.”

“On your own,” Iris said.

“I’m not alone. I have you. He’ll read your minds and maybe he’ll break the comms, but I know you’re there. And I have the Speed Force. I’m never alone. You’re really sure about this, Wally.”

“Yes,” Wally said. “I’ll have Cecile and the Speed Force. I can do this.”

“We’ll all be right here,” Henry said. “If you change your mind-”

“I know,” Wally said. “We’ve got this.”

“Well then, Mister West,” Marlize said. She gestured to the chair and Wally jumped in.

“Ready, Wally?” Cecile asked.

“I’m ready.”

* * *

He was at S.T.A.R. Labs, but outside, and lightning flashed across the sky. And there was something on the floor. That was the thinking cap DeVoe had used to get the powers he’d wanted. Wally hadn’t been here that night. He’d been watching on the news still home in Keystone. Maybe if he’d been here, he would have got his powers earlier. Maybe not.

Iris and Barry had been here though. For a short time at least. And then they’d gone to the police station and Barry had been struck by lightning. This was the night that started everything, back before Wally even knew he had a sister.

He knew there had been a lot of people here that night. Not the eerily empty streets under the silent storm above him.

DeVoe in his floating chair came around the corner and Wally darted out of sight. He waited for DeVoe to disappear from sight again.

“Cecile?” he whispered.

“ _I’m here_ ,” her voice came from inside his head, just like with Grodd. “ _You should be in his subconscious. He shouldn’t know you’re there.”_

“I’m at S.T.A.R. Labs, the night of the particle accelerator,” he said. “It’s empty though. I’ve just seen him go past, but no one else is here.”

“ _Marlize says that’s the night the Enlightenment truly began when he got his powers. She said try their home.”_

“Got it,” Wally said. He shot through Central in a streak of lightning. He’d seen their home before, even if he hadn’t been in.

He was guessing it wasn’t usually empty though. There was no furniture, nothing, not even a photo frame.

“He’s not here,” Wally said. “Cecile?”

No answer.

“Cecile?”

“ _I’m still here,”_ she said. “ _I’ve got you. Wally, he’s launched the satellites. We have an hour. Barry’s gone to see what he can do, but they’re too high.”_

“Okay. I don’t want to be in here for more than an hour. Where is he now?”

“ _The corner of-”_

“Cecile?”

“ _He’s on the corner of Grand Avenue and Bedford Street._ ”

“Are you okay? You keep disappearing.”

“ _Contractions are getting worse.”_

“Are you in labour? Do you need to stop?”

“ _My waters haven’t broken yet. Maybe soon, but not yet. Labour isn’t a short contractions start then you’re holding a baby. It will be a few hours, probably longer than you have till the Enlightenment is irreversible. My powers seem to be dropping out every time I have a contraction, and this is even riskier than we thought and if you want me to I will pull you out now, but I can hold on for a little longer, it is your decision, Wally.”_

“I’m going to check Grand Avenue. Does Marlize have a list of places I should look, just in case I lose you again?”

“ _She says try Oxford, both their home and the university._ ”

“Got it,” Wally said.

* * *

The only DeVoe in Grand Avenue was the floating Thinker one. And Oxford was completely empty. Wally searched the whole city. And he checked C.C.U. just for good measure too, that was empty.

And everything jolted slightly.

“Cecile?”

_“He knows you’re there. We’re in the pocket dimension. We’ve lost contact with Barry. Cisco stayed behind to find him. Wally-”_

“The pocket dimension,” Wally said. “I can’t find him here, but maybe he’s there. I have to check. Can you ask Marlize if there’s a way to get there without the chair?”

“ _You’ve got the chair.”_

“But it’s-”

_“Wally. Where you are isn’t real. Use that.”_

Wally shut his eyes and focused. His body was sitting in the Thinker’s chair. All he needed to do was bring that here too.

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting and floating.

“One door to a pocket dimension coming right up.”

* * *

Unlike everywhere else, the Thinker’s lair was not empty.

It wasn’t good DeVoe trapped in the force fields. Dominic Lanse, Janet Petty, Ramsey Deacon, Sylbert Rundine, Becky Sharpe, Edwin Gauss, and Izzy Bowin were, and-

“Ralph,” Wally said. “Ralph, you’re here.”

“Wally?” Ralph asked. “I mean Flash. No, no, you can’t be here, you can’t-”

“It’s okay,” Wally said. “He didn’t get me, Cecile sent me here to find the good DeVoe, only-”

“Only you’re so convinced he doesn’t exist,” DeVoe said. Wally turned around and then there was a force field surrounding him. He banged on the sides. “You can tell them you were right.”

“Let him go,” Izzy said.

“It seems you finished top of the class, Mister West,” DeVoe said. “You finally did something I didn’t expect. All those months with Mister Allen so determined to protect his dear little sidekick he just lets you hand yourself over? Did he not recall I told him I needed a Flash, not specifically him?”

“I’m not Barry’s sidekick,” Wally said. “We’re partners. I’m here because he listened to me.”

“And unfortunately for him, it did mean I no longer need him.”

“What did you do?”

“He was the one who phased through the ground. After telling you not to just a few months ago. Even if he survived that, he was outside while you’re safe in my head and all your friends are hiding away in a pocket dimension. Perhaps he’ll be a better student when the Enlightenment is complete.”

“You are hurting people,” Wally said. “You’re hurting people and you’ve killed people. Just so you can take over the world?”

“I’m not trying to take over the world, Mister West. I’m going to teach it. They just need to be willing to learn. Blank canvases for me to make better. I’ll create world peace. You can hang up your cowl.”

“Learning isn’t about forgetting,” Wally said. “You learn from mistakes, from listening to other people, and you’re taking everything away, making yours the only voice, you are not a good teacher.”

“You have lost, Flash.”

“No. We haven’t. I am still standing. I will fight you as long as I am breathing. And when I’m not, someone else will. You’re the villain. Villains don’t win.”

“You’re so certain about that.”

“Yes. Yes, I am, because humanity is so much better than you are giving them credit for. Maybe you’re going to kill all of us and take over the world. But someone, somewhere, will take up the fight and stand up for what is right. Villains don’t get to win. Someone, somewhere, will stand up to you one day and you will lose.”

“You’ll have to excuse me, Mister West, I have to go deal with your blasted mentor. I am going to need to borrow some speed.”

“No, you can’t-”

DeVoe vanished and then Wally hurt so much. Lightning cackled around him and he clutched his head and gasped.

“Cecile,” he said. “Cecile, are you there? Cecile, please.”

“Flash?” Becky Sharpe asked. “Do you have a plan?”

“No,” Wally said. “I thought you were all dead, I didn’t know you were here, I don’t know if there’s a way to get you out, we’re in Ralph’s body but the rest of you your bodies are dead, I was just looking for the good in him. Marlize said there was good in him, Barry said there’s good in everyone, I didn’t think I’d find anything, and I don’t know what to do. Cecile’s not answering and I don’t have Barry, or Dad, or Linda, or Iris, anyone, I need them to tell me what to do.”

“No, you don’t,” Ralph said. “You’re the Flash.”

“I’m Kid Flash.”

“Barry was in the Speed Force for months and you were both. He gave you the name, listened to you, because you’re his partner. He believes in you, even if right now you don’t believe in yourself.”

“Touching,” Ramsey Deacon said. “Could we not have had the other Flash though? He was fairly competent attempting to get us out of Iron Heights, even if he failed the last bit.”

“But DeVoe was the one who took your bodies,” Wally said. “This is on him, no one else. You’re here because he’s using your powers. I might not be able to find the good him, I’m not Iris or Barry, I don’t think I can just talk a villain out of committing crime, but I can get you out of here. And if I do that, then he can’t use your powers, and he’s back to square one.”

“Well,” Dominic said. “I have been here for six months. I will try anything to not be anymore.”

“You took a chance on me before, and I turned you down,” Izzy said. “I’m not doing that again.”

“I refuse to help the Flash,” Rundine said.

“Fine,” Wally said. “Refuse. I’m not going to force you. I have no idea how long we have, but it’s probably only half an hour maximum, even I don’t have time to convince you of something you don’t want to do.”

“You can’t even get us out of these force fields,” Janet Petty said.

“Yeah, we can,” Wally said. “This is his mind, nothing here is real. It’s just imagined. These aren’t real force fields. Edwin, you can fold us out.”

“And then what?” Ramsey asked.

“If there was a way in, there is a way out,” Wally said. “Black Canary said when the Dominators had her trapped in a dreamscape there was like a breach that got them out. Maybe there’s one here too.”

* * *

Folding out of DeVoe’s pocket dimension was the easy bit. Wally still felt drained.

Central wasn’t empty anymore. It was full of DeVoes.

“Well, we tried,” Janet said. “Guess we lost.”

“If you let them go, the satellites fall, Mister West,” one of the DeVoes, probably the real one, said. “Especially Mister Deacon and Ms Petty.”

“If I don’t, you take the minds of every person on the planet,” Wally said.

“People will be hurt by the debris.”

“The whole world will be hurt if I don’t stop you.”

“You and Mister Allen are so stubborn. I don’t need you. Do you need me to remind you of that? I need a Flash. And Mister Allen is less likely to fight me.”

Barry was next to him. Trapped in a force field.

“Wally,” he said. “Wally, help me-”

“It isn’t real,” Wally said. “This isn’t real.”

“This is. This is what I’m seeing right now.”

He waved another hand and now Barry was lying on the ground, clutching his head.

“The stars,” he was muttering. “The stars-”

Wally charged at DeVoe and he stepped aside. The image of Barry vanished again.

“You can’t get out of here, Mister West. You’ve lost contact with Ms Horton. This isn’t a dreamscape. This is my mind. My rules. By all means, fold yourselves out of the pocket dimension, you’re still in my head. There is no way out.”

“Yes, there is,” Wally said. “There has to be. This isn’t even your body, it’s Ralph’s, you stole it from him.”

Wally ran at him again, and DeVoe side stepped with tiny flickers of lightning around him.

“You are in my head. I have access to your powers.”

“You don’t understand the Speed Force,” Wally said. “They’re infinite and eternal and you will never understand them.”

“Like I will never win?”

“Yes! You’re such an arrogant old man, you think you know everything, and you’ve barely scratched the surface of the truths of the universe! I’ve been to other worlds, I’ve been inside a sentient cosmic force that binds the multiverse together, I’ve dreamt of another timeline and time travelled, I am young, and I have so much to learn, but I won’t be learning anything else from you because you aren’t teaching people you’re just hurting them and you won’t listen to anyone else. It’s no wonder your wife left you. I don’t know how to get out. I don’t know how to save them. But I do know this is Ralph’s body. Ralph’s head. There is a way to give Ralph control.”

“In a few moments the Enlightenment will be complete. And I have just found which pocket dimension your friends are hiding in with Marlize.”

Izzy threw him back with a sonic blast and he vanished. But the other DeVoes were surrounding them.

“What do we do, Flash?”

“ _Wally?”_

“Cecile! Cecile, I don’t know what to do.”

“ _Marlize says there should be a nexus, if you bring the good DeVoe through that, he can retake control.”_

“There is no good DeVoe. It’s just one man. He is responsible for all of his choices, good and bad. And he says there isn’t a way out. He’s using my Speed.”

“ _I can pull you out._ ”

“But what about Ralph, and Izzy’s here, and Becky, and Dominic, and Edwin, Janet, Ramsey, Sylbert, everyone’s here and I don’t know how to get them out.”

“I don’t think you can,” Izzy said. “But we’re just ghosts here. He took our bodies and killed us and just trapped the last tiny pieces of us left so he could use our powers. We aren’t really real, not anymore.”

“You are though.”

“Izzy,” Ralph said.

“You know I’m right, Stretch,” Izzy said. “He’s keeping us here using Dominic’s powers. Maybe I was never the real Izzy Bowin, maybe I’m just his imagined version so he could visualise what he needed.”

“Being free of this place will let our spirits find their next lives,” Edwin said. “Perhaps one day we will meet again, Flash.”

“I can’t just let you die,” Wally said.

“Kid’s right,” Janet said. “I don’t want to die.”

“You already have,” Izzy said. “All of us. I think it’s time to just let go.”

“But you’re here,” Wally said. “You’re real. Ralph.”

“It’s his body,” Dominic said. “He took over your consciousness, but your subconscious, that’s still the thing making your heart beat and your lungs breathe. You can feel what he feels still because this is your body.”

“And he’s an invader,” Wally said. “This isn’t just his mind, it’s yours too. Immune systems have antibodies. Maybe you aren’t his mind. Maybe you’re Ralph’s.”

“Maybe,” Izzy said. “I don’t know.”

“But if this is your mind, then you can find the escape. You can make one. This is your Central, Ralph. Where’s the way out?”

“Usually I get the train?” Ralph said.

“We can hold him off,” Izzy said. “I don’t know how long for.”

“I can get us there fast,” Wally said. “Cecile, can you still hear me?”

“ _You’re distant.”_

“Have you heard from Barry yet?”

“ _Not yet. Nor Cisco._ ”

“The satellites are going to fall.”

“ _We’ll find a way.”_

“Barry’s hurt too. I saw.”

“ _Hartley’s working on it._ ”

“All right,” Wally said. “The train station then. All of us are going.”

“Through that?” Becky asked. The other DeVoes hadn’t moved yet. But they were all blocking the way.

“Yes,” Wally said. “You all have superpowers. Time to use them.”

* * *

Edwin had got them to the train station. But that was full of DeVoes too. But there was a breach on the platform.

“Now what?” Janet asked.

“You all have to go through,” Wally said.

“Then what happens?” Becky asked.

“I don’t know. But you won’t be trapped here anymore.”

“It’s better than this,” Dominic said. He pushed forward.

Wally zipped between the DeVoes, pushing as many over as he could to clear a path. But there were so many.

Janet just floated up, shot over and through the breach. That took her powers from him. That meant the satellites were falling.

Izzy knocked a lot down with a shockwave to let Becky get through. And Edwin managed, and Ramsey.

Ralph pushed Dominic through next. His powers were the ones keeping them here.

The station shook.

“Wally, get Cecile to get you out of here now,” Ralph said.

“But you-”

“I’ll be okay. Go.”

“Cecile?” Wally asked. “Cecile, are you there?”

“ _Got you_ ,” Cecile said.

Wally opened his eyes. He was in the chair, in DeVoe’s lair. Only DeVoe was standing over Cecile and Hartley had his gauntlets raised and Laurel had her staff, but Cecile was right there.

“Hey, Professor, Cecile just helped save the world while having a baby, leave her alone you dick.”

“Wally?” Linda asked. He climbed out the chair.

“Mister West,” DeVoe said. “What have you done?”

“Hopefully stopped you,” Wally said. “Leave my family alone.”

“You are going to lose tonight, one way or another.”

“No thanks,” Lily said. DeVoe crumpled under her. “That didn’t actually work, right?”

“Are you actually holding a rock?” Hartley asked.

“No, I could only find a paperweight.”

“I love you,” Laurel said.

“Aww, I love you too.”

“Hey, lovebirds, not done yet,” Linda said. DeVoe was already on his feet again.

“Yes, we are,” Iris said. She stepped between DeVoe and Cecile. “Give up, Clifford.”

“Mrs West-Snow,” he said. “What exactly are you going to-”

He froze. And his whole body seemed to be shaking.

“Clifford?” Marlize asked.

DeVoe stepped back then slumped against the wall.

And then Ralph was standing there.

“Please tell me that’s you,” Wally said.

“It’s me,” Ralph said. “I got through, thanks to Izzy.”

“Are they-”

“I can’t feel them. I think I’m just me.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“No. I’m sorry. But it’s got to be better than being trapped in his head, right? You felt how much it hurt when he used your powers.”

“Yeah. The satellites- The satellites fell-”

“We have a different issue,” Caitlin said. Henry and Wally’s dad were both by Cecile trying to help. “Cecile is getting very close and I have not delivered a baby since med school. We have to get back to S.T.A.R. Labs at least, if not the hospital.”

“And we don’t know what happened to Barry and Cisco,” Eddie said.

“I can get you to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Marlize said. The pocket dimension seemed to fold in on itself and they were back in the Speed Lab. Caitlin and Henry immediately rushed Cecile upstairs with Wally’s dad close behind. “Is Clifford-”

“I think he’s gone,” Ralph said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I lost him a long time ago. I’m sorry for what happened to you.”

“I have to go,” Wally said.

“You need to rest first,” Linda said. “Come on, let’s get you to the Cortex so you can sit down and we can see what happened.”

* * *

Henry had driven Wally’s dad and Cecile to the hospital. Not before his dad had given Wally a hug and told him how proud he was. But Wally and Iris had both rushed him along. Hopefully they’d get there in time.

Barry and Cisco’s comms were down. They had no idea where to start looking. Hartley had grabbed his bike and rushed out, and Laurel, and Eddie and Lily had taken his car, but Caitlin had insisted Wally and Ralph rest.

“It’s over now,” Ralph said. “You saved me. Thank you.”

“You saved yourself,” Wally said.

“No, you saved all of us.”

“I didn’t. They died.”

“You heard Izzy. Maybe they were never real. Maybe they were just ghosts. But you freed them, freed us from his mind. You saved the day.”

“What about the satellites?”

“Even you can’t be in two places at once,” Iris said. “Everything will be okay, Wally.”

“The Flash can sometimes be in two places at once though,” Barry said. Captain Singh and Cisco walked in with Barry between them, arms over their shoulders, standing on one leg, suit incredibly torn and covered in blood. “Oh, don’t worry about this, this is nothing.”

“It is not nothing,” Cisco said. “He punched a satellite and got hit by a lot of shrapnel.”

“He also has a broken leg,” Captain Singh said. “Which he ran on.”

“Look,” Barry said. “DeVoe beat me up a lot. And no one else had any ideas what to do with the falling satellites, you were all still out of it. Why was DeVoe temporarily a speedster?”

“He did want one of us to go into his head,” Wally said. “That was what he needed a Flash for. He was using my powers.”

“Right. But you found the good DeVoe.”

“No, this is Ralph.”

“Sorry?”

“Hey, Rookie,” Ralph said. “Not quite as dead as you thought.”

“I would hug you but I am in so much pain. I will do it later.”

“You two will have to get up so Barry can lay down,” Caitlin said.

“I’ll call the others,” Linda said.

“Are you okay, Cisco?” Iris asked.

“I’m fine,” Cisco said. “More or less. Better than him. I found him in the sewers.”

“The only way to stop him using Janet Petty’s powers was to phase,” Barry said. “It just happened I was above some sewers. It wasn’t like I planned on ending up in them. You should just cut this suit, Cait, it’s gone.”

“You phased through the road?” Iris asked.

“It’s fine. There were other speedsters there. They saved me. The woman with the purple lightning pulled me out the wall before I stopped phasing. I counted three, I’m pretty sure I saw them head for the other three satellites, and Cisco managed to breach one to somewhere.”

“The Pipeline,” Cisco said. “I’ll clear it up later.”

“Hartley, Laurel, Eddie, and Lily are all on their way back,” Linda said.

“Where are Dad, Joe, and Cecile?” Barry asked. “Ow.”

“Stop squirming,” Caitlin said.

“They’re at the hospital,” Iris said. “Cecile’s in labour.”

“You lot have certainly had a busy day,” Captain Singh said. “I should probably go.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Cisco said.

“Well done, all of you. Professor DeVoe?”

“Yes, I was expecting that,” she said. She followed Captain Singh out the Cortex.

“Go on,” Linda said. Wally rushed out too.

“Captain,” he said. Captain Singh and Marlize both turned around. “You’ll take into account she helped us, right?”

“I helped Clifford first,” Marlize said. “Your appeal for Mister Allen already proved I lied in court. I helped him with far more than that.”

“But you helped us stop him in the end. And we know he had some of the Weeper’s tears. Iris and Linda heard Amunet Black say that. He used them on you, didn’t he?”

“For a while. Not for the whole time.”

“I’m sure there are many things we can take into account, Mister West,” Captain Singh said. “The Flash speaking in her defence will certainly be one of them.”

“Thank you,” Marlize said. “You and your friends are far more intelligent than Clifford gave you credit for.”

“Is there anything else?” Captain Singh asked.

“I’ll drop by C.C.P.D. if there is,” Wally said. “But I think now everyone just needs rest.”

* * *

Cisco practically flew at Hartley when he rushed back in and kissed him. Eddie rushed over to Barry who was still lying on the bed with his leg in a splint and bandaged, and Iris had found him some clothes to wear. He was going to need a completely new suit.

Henry wasn’t far behind Laurel, and he came to talk to Wally before going over to Barry.

“Joe and Cecile will probably be at the hospital all night,” he said. “But Joe wanted me to tell you he’s proud of you.”

“He already said,” Wally said.

“And he wants to know if you’re all right.”

“I think I am. Just tired. We won.”

“You did a good job, Wally. Barry was right, you make a very good Flash.”

“Thanks. Caitlin won’t let him get out of bed.”

Henry smiled and walked over.

“Hey, Slugger, someone told me you punched a satellite?”

Linda put her hand on Wally’s shoulder.

“You want to stay at mine tonight?” she asked.

“Or you could come to mine,” Wally said. “We could race Lily and Laurel.”

“I think you have an advantage there. But that could be fun.”

* * *

The gathering was Iris’ idea. Not a party, they could introduce everyone to their new baby sister some other time, but their grandparents were picking their dad, Cecile, and new baby sister up from the hospital and Iris had called Joanie, Wally, and Barry to help her and Caitlin get the house ready. Mostly Joanie and Wally, Caitlin was insisting Barry stay on crutches for the rest of the day and hadn’t let him move out of the chair he was sitting in yet.

“What did happen to your leg?” Joanie asked.

“First I landed on it wrong falling through the road into the sewers,” Barry said. “Then DeVoe threw me around a little more while my brain wasn’t exactly working, and then I made it even worse running very fast to jump off a building and punch a satellite and did land on it wrong again when I fell back down. Also it had a lot of shrapnel in it. Might not have been my best idea but in my defence my brain was not working.”

“You what?”

A knock came from the door.

“That can’t be them already,” Barry said.

“Why would Dad be knocking on his own front door when he has no idea we’re here?” Iris asked.

“Someone help me up.”

“I’ll get it,” Wally said. He opened the door. Wally- his cousin- was standing there with a girl around his age with bright pink hair. “Hey, Wally. Did Grandma and Grandpa send you?”

“Um, no,” small Wally said. “Is Barry there?”

“Yep,” Barry said. “Just you two?”

“Yeah, this is my friend Avery.”

“Hi Avery, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Barry. Wally and I will be quick, I’m just going to help him and Avery with some chemistry homework, we’ll only be upstairs.”

“Dad and Cecile will be here soon,” Iris said. “Grandma just sent a message.”

“All right, you got me,” Barry said. “Wally and Avery found out I’m the Flash last night, oh, sorry Joanie, I’m the Flash, I was building up to that but Wally and Avery got here faster than I thought they would so I just need to talk to them quickly.”

“And Lily says Wally just left S.T.A.R. Labs. About five minutes ago.”

Barry sighed.

“Is this why you told us to wear masks and sometimes be late?” Avery asked.

“I have a reputation to keep,” Barry said. “Plus if people expect you to be late it gives you an extra few minutes if you need to do Flash stuff, and you only need to be late once or twice a month to keep it up. And suddenly always being on time after I woke up from a coma the same day the Flash showed up would probably lead to some questions. This way I’m just the same old Barry.”

“Are you telling me you’ve spent the last four years deliberately being late?” Iris asked. “When we already know?”

“Not always. Sometimes I just have stuff to do. You try having a secret identity.”

“That’s not the biggest thing here,” Wally said. “Wally, when did you become a speedster?”

“Last March?” cousin Wally said. “In that big storm. Avery and I both got struck by lightning.”

“You said there were three other speedsters last night,” Caitlin said.

“We don’t know who she was,” Avery said. “She just found us and told us the Flash needed our help and the sky was purple and everyone was talking gibberish and we found the Flash in the sewers about to fall through the ground.”

“You haven’t seen her?” Barry asked. Avery shook her head. “I’m sure she’ll find me again when she’s ready.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“We met before. Just once. We’re not going to be able to start training today after all, and as I said yesterday, I do not want either of you fighting crime alone and you absolutely are going to need suits before you do that.”

“Barry, he’s fourteen,” Iris said. “Avery-”

“I’m fifteen.”

“Barry.”

“I literally just said they’re not doing it alone. I will supervise.”

“There was Kid Flash before,” cousin Wally said.

“Yeah, I’m a bit older than you,” Wally said.

“You’re the other Flash?”

“It’s a long story, I was fighting him-”

“In his own head, Barry said yesterday. Did he mean that literally?”

“Yes, and it was weird. You should talk to Grandma and Grandpa first, and it is your decision, but I guess if you’re determined it’s better you have us with you than go out alone?”

“Again,” Barry said. “They did save me last night and they destroyed two of the satellites and helped save Central and Keystone, and unlike me they did not end up full of shrapnel. Please tell me you did not end up full of shrapnel, I told you if you get hurt S.T.A.R. Labs will help, actually Caitlin is the one you want to ask for.”

“We were fine,” cousin Wally said. “Honest.”

“Wait, wait,” Joanie said. “Wally, big Wally, why did you do this, Wally, you’re also the Flash. The one who used to be Kid Flash.”

“Oops,” Wally said.

“Do Joe and Mom know about this?”

“Yes. Cecile used her powers to get me into DeVoe’s head last night, she did help save the world while in labour.”

“She has powers too?”

“Pregnancy ones? So maybe not anymore? I have no idea.”

“And I thought Coast City was weird because once I ran into an alien and a green space cop dude.”

“Oh, you met Green Lantern too? He showed up when we fought Starro the space starfish. Barry wasn’t there, he was doing other stuff. Hopefully he shows up again soon some time, I think Barry would like him, and he does seem to collect friends who are heroes.”

“Does this mean you know Hawkgirl?”

“Yeah, I’ll introduce you,” Barry said. “I did say I’d drop by at some point anyway, I’ll talk to her about it.”

“Is this normal with having powers?” Avery asked.

“It’s normal for us,” Iris said. “You two are just kids.”

“Learning how to control these might be good though. And Wally said he was nice as Barry. And he’s the Flash. So’s the other Wally. Isn’t that confusing?”

“Maybe we’ll think of something later,” Wally said. “I think a car just pulled up outside.”

* * *

Jenna, Wally’s new baby sister, was very cute. And his dad and Cecile had been happy to see everyone. Maybe later they’d have to explain why Wally and Avery were there. It could wait.

He’d gone out to the kitchen to make everyone more coffee.

“Wally. You okay?”

“I’m great,” Wally said. “Really.”

“You sure?”

“She’s really sweet. I guess I can take notes from Iris and Barry on how to be an older sibling.”

“We rushed off.”

“And Cecile needed to go to the hospital and you still made time to tell me you’re proud of me and you told Henry to tell me. Dad, it’s fine. I know. I love you.”

“Love you too, Walls. Your grandparents do want to know when Wally and his friend got here.”

“That’s going to take some explaining, I vote we make Barry do it.”

“That’s not a promising start.”

“Everything’s fine, Dad. Promise. We stopped DeVoe. Got Ralph back. I didn’t know how to save the others.”

“You saved the world. It sounds like they made their own choices. I told Barry once he couldn’t save everyone. Even with all this speed the two of you have, you can’t save every single person. I think you managed to yesterday. Central is going to need some work. Just clearing up. And I doubt this will be the last villain you have to fight. But everything I have seen you kids do, I know you’ll do the right thing. That’s all I want. The four of you to know right from wrong, to make good choices, and most importantly, to be happy. To have good lives.”

“We do. We really do. Joanie knows about Flash stuff now, it was Barry’s fault.”

“I should have seen that coming.”


	18. Epilogue: The End

“I was thinking about reopening S.T.A.R. Labs,” Cisco said. “As a research lab.”

S.T.A.R. Labs was quiet. Just him, Hartley, Lily, Caitlin, Wally, and Barry. Cisco hadn’t even meant to speak, not really.

“You know I love this,” he said. “I do. Stopping crime, it’s great. But Zari told us about the future. We can do more than just fight crime. We can…”

“Help people,” Barry said. “So people like Frankie Kane, Bette Sans Souci, and Farooq Gibran don’t have to deal with this alone.”

“Exactly. And look at everything we do here. The original Flash suit was supposed to be for firefighters. Wally’s engine designs could reduce fossil fuel usage. I’ve been working on prosthetics. And we can do so much good. And we have friends too, we can talk to Tracy, maybe Marlize once everything’s dealt with, Ray if he ever wants to settle down.”

“We do good as Team Labs,” Lily said.

“I know. But we can do more.”

“But we can’t do both,” Caitlin said.

“We don’t have to. I don’t mean it like that. Don’t you think we hold back sometimes? All of us. I know part of why I do is because I’ve been afraid of my powers for a long time, and sometimes I still am, I’m pretty sure I could destroy the whole planet if I wanted, which I never will obviously, but I think it’s that we don’t want things to change. But we don’t need Team Labs to care about each other. Nothing’s going to change that. Why stick to Central if we could help the whole world?”

“You’re really serious about this.”

“We have Ferris Air. Team Labs can set up a base there if we want. But it’s not like we have to sit and wait for crime. We have extrapolators, we can all get places in seconds, not just Barry and Wally.”

“I have been working on something that could help with that,” Barry said.

“Your mysterious Time vault project?” Hartley asked.

“I need a few more days to finish her off, but she’s almost ready. Captain Singh offered me my job back this morning.”

“That’s good,” Lily said. “When do you start again?”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

“You haven’t?” Wally asked.

“There’s a lot to think about first. Does everyone have extrapolators?”

“I will get right on it,” Cisco said. “You thinking All Star Team Ups?”

“I’m thinking you might need to finally come up with a better name. Us, Jesse and her Earth-2 crew, the Hawks, Team City after they’d finished whatever they’re doing, I don’t know what it is, Supergirl and everyone from Earth-38, the Legends, Mari and Kuasa, Max, Jay and Danica, maybe Tatsu or Constantine even, or Wally’s green space dude and Kara’s cousin, anyone who’s interested, we can work together. Not all the time. We can handle the Rogues ourselves. But stuff like the Dominators, for big stuff, maybe having a few friends could help.”

“Like the Avengers.”

“I was more thinking along the lines of the Justice Society, but yeah, that works, they have solo runs and team runs.”

“You want to reform the J.S.A.?”

“You just said why stick to Central if we can help the whole world. I’m not saying every single small crime across the world, just a group people can ask for help from in emergencies, something in place so we’re ready to deal with any Crisis that comes our way.”

“You’ve both thought about this,” Hartley said. “Haven’t you?”

“S.T.A.R. Labs is half yours,” Cisco said. “I’m not doing anything without talking to you first, talking to any of you first.”

“I like the idea of helping people. And a society of superheroes. Have you had any other thoughts?”

“I have been thinking about the sandwich I ate yesterday,” Barry said. “It was a really good sandwich. If I could go back in time and eat it again I would.”

“Please do not break spacetime just for a sandwich,” Cisco said.

“We’ll need a different name,” Wally said. “If you want to help the whole world. Not just America. And maybe there’s other places out there, other heroes.”

“There’s that post on Barry’s old blog about the guy who can talk to fish,” Lily said. “There’s a lot on Barry’s old blog.”

“Maybe Nate and I should finally stop by Gotham and see if we can find Batwoman,” Barry said. “If I can convince Joe. I’m sure people will show up if we give them the chance.”

“And I will work on a name,” Cisco said.

“If you have time with all the running a business,” Caitlin said.

“I’ll talk to Laurel about any lawyers we might need,” Hartley said. “And this time we’re getting a proper accountant, not Barry’s future A.I. daughter. Have you ever thought about a scholarship programme?”

* * *

Linda had been to a lot of press conferences. Mostly sports related, but she’d been to some at C.C.P.D. too, especially recently. But she’d never been to a press conference held by her friends before.

“Why now?” someone asked. Ah, Spencer Young, probably good it was Linda here and not Iris. “S.T.A.R. Labs has not been fully open for years.”

“Mister Ramon, Doctor Snow-West, and I spent a long time feeling guilty about the accelerator,” Hartley said. “Even after we discovered the faux Harrison Wells had intentionally sabotaged it. Then we felt guilty none of us had known anything was wrong, even when we’d all been children when the real Doctor Wells died and never met him. Every single time someone uses metahuman abilities to hurt someone else, or when people are hurt because they are metahumans, we feel responsible. That’s one reason we’ve spent so long trying to help C.C.P.D., only to discover our inventions have also been used to hurt people. We just want to help. In any way we can. We want to help fix things after DeVoe, and we are opening our doors to any metahumans who feel like they need help.”

“Is this scholarship metahuman exclusive?” Scott asked. Linda could catch up with him later.

“No, absolutely not. A friend of ours needed help to finish his degree. Another friend had to drop out because he lost his scholarship after an injury meant he couldn’t play football. Another says he wouldn’t have had the opportunities he did without his. When I first met the man I believed to be Harrison Wells I could barely afford new batteries for my hearing aids, let alone my next semester. I know he was a bad man who did evil things, but he helped me then and I don’t know where I would be if he hadn’t. It would not be standing in front of all of you. We all know what it’s like to be young, confused, and to feel like you can’t achieve what you want to, and I want to pay the kindness shown to me forward. A long time ago the Flash told me something. He said if he had the ability to help people he had to take it. He said even if he could only help one person, that one person deserved his help. That’s the philosophy we want to build S.T.A.R. Labs on. That maybe we only help one person, but we still helped one person.”

“Is that confirmation that S.T.A.R. Labs has worked with the Flash?” someone else asked. Linda didn’t know her. She’d ask later.

“So many people in this city have,” Cisco said. “If the Flash, or any of the heroes in this city, ask you for your help are you really going to say no.”

“Mister Rathaway, what ties will S.T.A.R. Labs have to Rathaway Industries?” Spencer Young asked.

“None,” Cisco said. “I think we might be in direct competition with them actually.”

“But your business partner is the son and oldest child of Osgood and Rachel Rathaway.”

“Technically, but that’s nothing to do with S.T.A.R. Labs. Hartley’s just Hartley.”

“And he’s a Rathaway.”

“I haven’t spoken to my parents for a long time for personal reasons,” Hartley said. “And Cisco is not my business partner, he is the man I am in love with. Are there any other questions related to S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“Do you have any official dates for the reopening?” Linda asked as if she hadn’t helped them set this whole thing up.

“Not yet,” Hartley said. “We’ve been slowly rebuilding over the past four years but we might need a little longer, this is still in early development, but we will keep our website updated, and we do have application forms for careers and the scholarship.”

* * *

“Well, Ms Young’s article is going to be all about how the two of you are together,” Lily said.

“I should go clarify that I’m bi,” Cisco said. “Should I go tell everyone I’m bi?”

“If you want. You want everyone else to go tell all the reporters there are currently zero straight people at S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“What have I done,” Hartley said. “People are going to know.”

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “We can fix this. Look, it’s Linda, Linda can fix this, Linda. Hartley said some things he wants to take back.”

“Okay,” Linda said. “Hartley? Are you okay?”

“My parents are going to flip. People know. Cisco, do you want to go on a date tonight?”

“Excuse me?” Cisco asked.

“A proper one. To a restaurant where we both eat food and talk and maybe kiss and people can see us?”

“Can I wear my Space Invaders t-shirt?”

“Yes.”

“I very much would like that. But maybe tomorrow? I think you might just need to relax a little.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“And you actually mean that. You don’t care.”

“I love you unconditionally,” Cisco said. “Not in spite of anything. It all makes you Hartley. I don’t even care that you keep loading the dishwasher wrong. Actually, I do care, the knives go handle down so they don’t fall through the holes.”

“If you put them that way around then you have to pull them out by the blade, if you put them blade down you can pull them out by the handle.”

“You don’t put the forks and spoons that way.”

“Yep,” Lily said. “I think they’ll be fine. Where’s Iris?”

“Following a Black Hole lead with Barry,” Linda said. “But we’re meeting Ralph later, there’s an empty office in his building.”

“Really, that sounds great.”

“What about Caitlin? I know Wally is in Keystone explaining to Ann and Ben all about how much Wally will need to be eating now and all the speedster stuff, but I thought she’d be here.”

“She’s just taking care of some stuff with Laurel. You know. The usual.”

“Ah, the normal start to the week in Central City. Which bank is it this time?”

"I think it's Caitlin's again."

* * *

“Dad said you haven’t gone back to work yet,” Iris said. “Even though Captain Singh said your job is waiting if you want it, and Wally said you weren’t sure if you did?”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “It’s a lot to think about.”

“You love your job.”

“I do. Did. Have done. I didn’t only go into forensics with the goal of getting Dad out of prison. But it was why I looked into forensics, and it was a hope I always had, that one day I would find the man who really did it. And we did. I spent so long dreaming about it and it actually happened. I have my dad back. I have a huge family. Patty has done fine without me before, and Julian’s coming back, he said yesterday, they can handle forensics. They don’t need me. And that is not me feeling useless and wondering this time, this is me realising that if they don’t need me I can choose something else and everything will be fine. Maybe they’ll miss me, but I’m not letting everyone down by saying I want to do something else.”

“What something else?”

“I promised August I’d help him find out what happened to his brother. I intend to keep my promise. Maybe I’ll do that by taking up Ralph’s offer of partner if it’s still open. Or maybe I’ll just help you when you ask, like today. But you and Linda have got this. Maybe I’ll ask Cisco and Hartley if they need more help with S.T.A.R. Labs. I think I’ll at least consult for a while. Maybe part-time there. I’m not giving chemistry up, I love it. But I was talking to Doctor Finkel. I only told her I’m the Flash because I already knew her. And that’s normal, no one else has gone and told their therapists they’re superheroes, no one else has therapists. I think we might need one. Helping metahumans isn’t all the science. Maybe sometimes, like Frankie, they just need someone to talk to. I could do that. Not just metahumans either, Central’s got a lot going on, and I get it. It’s hard. And it’ll take time, how long depends on if I just focus on counselling or go back and do a full psychology degree, and I have a long way to go with my own issues, but I could help people. Not just as the Flash, as Barry Allen too. I want to help people and there are so many ways I could do that.”

“I think I still have a few textbooks somewhere if you want.”

“I haven’t decided yet. I was thinking. But I do need to give Captain Singh an answer by the end of the day. It’s a risk, right? Eddie and I are supposed to be looking at buying a house, it’s not great timing to go get myself some more student debt.”

“Or maybe it is,” Iris said. “Everyone else is trying something new. You can always change your mind again later.”

“Yeah. I can. I’ll call Captain Singh after this, then I guess I’ll see what I can do. It might be a bit late in the year to apply. It is May already.”

“I’m sure you can figure something out,” Iris said.

* * *

“I don’t think I’ve apologised to you yet,” Barry said and sat at Ralph’s desk.

“You don’t have anything to apologise for,” Ralph said. “How did the Black Hole thing go?”

“Iris is going to do some more digging into McColloch. How’s your catching up going?”

“Thanks for taking care of things for me.”

“I’m glad you’re back. But really, I do need to apologise. I was going through a lot, but taking it out on you was not fair and I shouldn’t have done it. So, I’m sorry I was kind of a dick and I’ll do my best not to be in the future.”

“You really don’t need to apologise,” Ralph said. “But thanks. We were all struggling, I get it.”

“I can give you Doctor Finkel’s number. Though maybe you finding your own therapist might be better. I don’t know. It’s up to you.”

“I’ll keep it in consideration,” Ralph said. “You all saved me. You changed the future and saved Iris.”

“I think she kind of saved herself that time, but you’re building up to something.”

“If they can do that, they can change your future too.”

“I have not been thinking of an alternative for a very long time. I’m okay with dying if it saves everyone else. But I don’t think I want to. I want to get married, have kids, I want to see them grow up, I want to be there for her. Them. I want a future.”

“Then your friends will give you one. I am so lucky to know them.”

“Me too. And I believe you. They are my family, I love them, and they have never let me down. You’re part of that too. You know that.”

“Enough sappiness, Rookie. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

* * *

“Have you thought more about printed copies?” Linda asked.

“I think we’ll need to check demand,” Iris said. “I still can’t believe they let us start renting so quickly.”

“I think Ralph called in a favour. How’s Jenna?”

“Keeping Dad and Cecile up all night. Normal baby things. No sign of her being a metahuman. Cecile’s powers have been playing up, Caitlin thinks maybe she’s an empath instead of telepathic now?”

“Probably would cause less issues with her job.”

“Hopefully. Kamilla should be here soon. She’s bringing her portfolio, but what she sent already looks good.”

“Good. A photographer would be a big help. Did you see Spencer Young’s latest article?”

“She’s not still going on about Hartley, is she?”

“No. There’s something going on with her though. Might be worth a quick look.”

“Need some help?”

“I’m not going to turn it down.”

* * *

The party was in full swing. Cisco still found it weird to be involved with wealthy people.

Hartley had seen his friend Sue again. She seemed nice.

Cisco was attempting to take five minutes.

"Psst."

He frowned and looked around. Ralph slid in next to him, in his full suit.

"Hey. Oh, shrimp."

"Elongated Man. What a nice surprise."

"Ha, yeah," Ralph said. "I know you're busy and all, but I could really use some help. From your other job, if you know what I-"

"And you couldn't ask Barry."

"He's in Star City doing something for Oliver Queen, I didn't ask questions."

"Wally?"

"He went with Barry."

"Laurel?"

"Her dad's in the hospital, so she went too."

"Lily."

"She went with Laurel."

"Caitlin?"

"She's on a different Earth with Jesse."

"Linda?"

"Her and Iris might have got a lead on Meena Dhawan, something about speedsters, and they went investigating."

"Did you get left in S.T.A.R. Labs alone."

"I thought I could handle it." Ralph finger gunned. "I can't handle it, please help me."

"What did you do?"

"There's a guy downtown causing problems and punching him makes it worse."

"Fine. I'm coming."

"Where are you going?" Hartley asked. Sue was still with him.

"Err," Cisco said.

"I need science help?" Ralph said.

"Is this about the news?" Sue asked. "I've never met a superhero before, I'm Sue."

"Ralph," Ralph said. Cisco dropped his head into his hand. "No, wait. I'm not called Ralph. Ralph is my secret identity? No, the opposite. My real name is, um, Ken. No, that's my brother's name, why would I say that, it's-"

"Elongated Man," Hartley said. "Please stop talking."

"You're cute," Sue said. Ralph blushed. "I'd ask if you wanted to stick around, but you're probably busy."

"What, no, I can stay," Ralph said.

"No, you can't," Cisco said. He grabbed Ralph's arm and dragged him out. "Seriously?"

"That was a mistake."

"Come on, let's go and stop some crime."

* * *

"Where are we?" Barry asked. "It's freezing."

"Norway," Eddie said. "I looked it up and it's not the best time of year to see the aurora, it's better when it's darker, but, well."

"You brought me to see the Northern Lights," Barry said.

"Well, I don't know how visible they'll actually be, it is late May, but we can come back another time, or-"

Barry kissed him.

"You are wonderful, you know that?"

"You said your mother wanted to bring you," Eddie said. "I talked to Henry, Joe, Iris, and my mother and Grandma, they thought it sounded perfect. I did have to explain to my mother I know Vibe."

"Perfect for what?" Barry asked.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time," Eddie said. "I almost did this after you got home from Iron Heights, but it didn't feel like quite the right time, you were going through a lot. And it never seemed like the right time, there's always a villain to fight, a day to save, but that's how it's always going to be, isn't it? That's what I get for falling in love with a superhero."

"Eddie, I-"

"I know it might take you away from me one day. It already has. And I know I'll miss you because I already have. All of it, even your terrible, terrible puns. But that just means we need to take what we've got, right? Maybe I lose you one day, maybe soon, maybe not, maybe you lose me, I don't have the safest job in the world, but we have now. And I don't want to waste it worrying about the future, I don't want to regret anything. So, um." Eddie got down on one knee and pulled out a box. "Bartholomew Henry Allen, I love you. Will you marry me?"

"Nothing would make me happier," Barry said. "You're sure?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't sure, Bare." Eddie stood up and kissed him. "It might be a little cold to put the ring on now."

"I run hot," Barry said. He accepted the box from Eddie. A thin gold band widened slightly into two lightning bolts striking each other, a tiny circle behind them. "Eddie-"

"Cisco and Lily made it. Apparently it's been something they've been working on for a while. They said if you press down on the circle there's a surprise for you."

Barry slid the ring onto his finger and did what Eddie said. A Flash suit came flying out and he caught it.

"Oh wow," he said. "I have no idea how to get this back inside."

Eddie laughed.

"I really love you," Barry said.

"I love you too.”

* * *

Cisco and Lily had made Wally a Kid Flash suit, yellow and red, and Avery a pink one. They seemed happy. Racing around the Speed Lab.

“The other speedster hasn’t shown up yet, has she?” Lily asked.

“Not yet,” Barry said.

“Iris might have found a speedster with purple lightning she said.”

“Not my one though.”

“You’re sure about that.”

“Positive. Cisco met her too. At Iris and Caitlin’s wedding.”

“The caterer,” Cisco said. “Of course she is. Have you gone looking for her?”

“No. She’ll come and find us when she’s ready.”

“You met once at a wedding,” Lily said. “How can you possibly be so sure about that?”

“She called me Dad.”

* * *

"Pretty sure you're not supposed to be here," Zari said.

Nora West-Allen rubbed the back of her neck with a hand, and Jonas Hunter- dressed in his trademark long brown coat and outfit Zari now realised he'd probably just stolen from his father- looked equally sheepish.

"We haven't found Bart yet," Meloni Thawne said. "Captain Hunter just found us to help."

"I told Iris I’d try and find out what was causing the flux in her timeline,” Zari said. “And Gideon told me there's a version of her here, and a time ship. I'm guessing that's how you got here. You never told me you had a time ship, Jonas.”

“I didn’t,” Jonas said. “The _Waverider_ got destroyed in Darkseid’s invasion and the Legends destroyed all government records of time travel a long time ago so A.R.G.U.S. couldn’t get their hands on it. But Tina and Ronnie said Uncle Jax left impressions in the Firestorm Matrix, and I found my parents’ and Eobard Thawne’s notes on time spheres, and Aunt Lily helped, and we rebuilt it. Which I told them was a bad idea, but they’ve never listened to me before.”

“Dawn doesn’t even need a timeship to time travel,” Nora said.

“No,” Jonas said. “And neither does Irey, but Tina also wanted to help and she does, and because those two were coming Jai said he was coming and Ronnie got dragged along, and I don’t even know what Terri was talking about, something about ghost detectives, and Irey told Lian which meant Sara found out and she came too because it’s not the legacy her parents left A.R.G.U.S., at least J.J. decided to stay behind to take care of Star, I think William and Zoey are helping him, maybe Hector, and Jenna and Jeven stayed home with Jenni and our Gideon, but somehow this A.R.G.U.S. guy, Druce or something, he is also after us with a few other people and we ended up in the far future and Dawn downloaded that Gideon to the new _Waverider_ before we had to leg it again because they were doing something weird and I didn’t get the full story out of Ronnie but he and Tina set fire to a lot so it was probably bad, and it’s all a disaster just like I predicted.”

“We’re only here to find Bart,” Nora said. “Then we can go home.”

“Time’s already changed,” Zari said. “Cicada’s already active.”

“He can’t be,” Nora said. “He’s not supposed to be for another five years.”

“I know. But Iris is already the editor of the Citizen too.”

“Which she shouldn’t be till just before the Crisis. That’s the whole reason A.R.G.U.S. went after her and I saw Eiling talking to her, and now Auntie Linda’s there too instead of at Picture News, and Cicada can’t be active already, he’s the one who killed Uncle Cisco. Uncle Wallace and Auntie Avery were supposed to help Dad with DeVoe. I was making sure time was right.”

“You weren’t supposed to though,” Meloni said.

“It’s because I changed it before. We both have just by being here, but Mom and Auntie Linda needed to get into that backroom, you heard what they were going to do to Dad.”

“Amunet Black being shut down early is not a bad thing,” Zari said. “Ronnie stopped existing at the wedding. Just for a minute or two.”

“Eobard was there. We went there first, I thought the time variation might be Bart, but it was him. Uncle Wally always said changing time was dangerous and unpredictable.”

“The Legends leave a big mess,” Zari said. “But maybe we can fix things. Iris and Linda taking down Black Hole early would be good, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t think we have a way to know unless it happens,” Jonas said. “What about Bart?”

“I think my father would do what he did regardless of A.R.G.U.S,” Meloni said. “They just gave him easy access to cloning technology and Nora’s DNA. He’d find a way.”

“And the Legends and Barry told me they’d help me find a way to save Behrad,” Zari said. “I would have told Ronnie.”

“But he would bring Tina and her helping her parents probably wouldn’t be a good idea,” Jonas said. “But if time’s already changed it’s a bit late now and we probably can’t make it much worse.”

“I think we at least need to talk to Auntie Miranda,” Nora said. “She’ll understand.”

“She’s not the only one,” Zari said.

“I really want to,” Nora said. “Maybe after Dad and Pa’s wedding. We should at least give them that before we break time.”

“And Uncle Eddie did say they had a different disaster to deal with,” Meloni said.


End file.
